The Wildcard
by Kooliez
Summary: The youngest of all her siblings, Kouei was content to take the back seat and leave the battles for power to more suitable people like Kouen; much like her favorite older brother Koumei. That is, until she met Sinbad. "What is that man hiding? When I find out, there'll be nowhere for him to hide..." - Ren Kouei (Eventual SinbadxOC Warning: Rated M coz Sinbad is a Pedo)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 **Author's Note:**

 _Hi there! I just received this request from a friend and I've been working at it tirelessly because I've never watched Magi before up until 2 days before writing this fic. I'm using my friend's requested OC and I hope I got everyone's personalities right (Sorry if they're OOC but some of them only appear for like 5 mins and don't speak much so apologies to all characters with the misfortune of appearing in this story). I don't own Magi because Shinobu Ohtaka got there first (sad face) anyhow, I hope you enjoy because this is my second fic ever and it's the first non-one-shot I've ever written; If you don't like it, Please give tons of constructive criticism so I can figure out where I went wrong and improve the story for everyone's sake (smiles)._

 **Start of actual Story:**

"Congratulations Yaqut, it's a beautiful baby girl" Koutoku told his slave turned concubine eying the baby in his arms fondly. _What I've always wanted… A half-Fanalis child… I would have preferred a son but gender does not matter as long as she becomes strong enough for me to realize my goals of unifying the world…_

"What shall we name her?" looking back at his concubine, he realized that all of the midwives were swarming over her _; it seems like Yaqut had issues during the delivery…_ Koutoku shrugged, _even if she was expensive and she died, he had got what he wanted so it didn't matter to him; it was worth it._

Turning to his anxiously watching second son, he handed over his newborn daughter who the 11 year old prince nearly dropped; to be fair, even though he had only wanted to have her for her powerful lineage and had said she was a "beautiful baby girl" more out of courtesy than actually thinking that as such, he couldn't deny that she her young face was charmingly sweet and that she had a lively gleam to her striking red eyes. Running his hand over the tuft of soft red hair on the infant, he looked at Koumei who was currently cradling the girl in his arms.

"This is your new sister and her name will be Kouei… Take good care of her."

With that he sauntered off leaving his red-haired son to coddle and coo over his new sister.

 _~Time skip of 10 years~_

 **Narrator's POV (3** **rd** **Person)**

"Princess… I beg of you, please stay out of trouble this time…" Kouei's tutor and manservant Ryoukan pleaded as she stubbornly looked off to the side.

Sighing, the 9th Imperial princess of Kou plucked unhappily at the heavy imperial robes that she was currently required to wear, "I know I know… I'll try, I promise, but sometimes when get out of hand I just see red and next thing I know, my brain stops working then my fists start talking… And that guy from the meeting last week totally deserved it and you know it."

"It's not a question of deserving it or not! Using magic to change you tea into a snowball then throw it into the back of a guest king from another country's head is strictly forbidden! Do you understand?!" panting with his robes wrinkled and his hair ruffled where he had pulled at it, Ryoukan looked distinctly disheveled at the antics of his mistress.

Shoulders slumping slightly, Kouei looked up at her tutor with a frown "At least he never knew what hit him… he didn't even stop to think it could've been me because the 10 year old 9th Imperial princess is apparently beneath his notice and he didn't know I was a mage… But if it makes you feel better, I'll never do it again" Ryoukan's eyes lit up at this until he heard her next statement "Next time I'll grab him by the collar of his stupid robes and dump him into the pond to have a swim with the koi"

"YOUR HIGHNESS! You will do no such thing!" but before the argument could escalate, a certain military strategist prince wandered into sight.

 **Kouei's POV**

My eyes lit up at the sight of my favorite brother. Running up to him, I leapt into the air jumping on him "MEI!" He looked up with a smile and reached up his hands catching me… And losing his balance causing us both to land on the floor with me on top.

Giggling I rested my cheek on his chest "Eheheheh~ Mei~ I caught Big brother Mei outside of the office Eheheheh~!"

Giving a gentle smile, Mei patted my head ruffling my hair "Yes… Big brother Mei is trying to take some time off work and go to the park… Just don't tell Big brother En okay?"

" _ **Too late**_."

The ominous voice and the two equally ominous words echoed throughout the otherwise peaceful garden.

Slowly turning around sweat cascading in waterfalls down his comically petrified looking face, Mei came face to face with the intimidating figure of our eldest brother the 1st Imperial prince of the Kou Empire Ren Kouen – or Big brother En as I like to call him – silhouetted against the sun making him look even more terrifying than he usually does.

"Koumei…" En said in a very scary sounding voice "We are extremely close to our next dungeon conquest… May I ask _**why**_ you thought it would be okay to skip out on your military planning…?"

"Oh! My brother and my king… I was… just looking for my pen!"

"Oh? Then why did you tell Kouei that you were going to the park then warn her not to tell me?" En stepped closer so we could see his unimpressed expression as he crossed his arms "Were you going to slack off and neglect your duties again?"

"Uhmm…" Mei tried to back off slowly but he didn't get very far before En grabbed his wrist preventing him from escaping.

"You're coming back with me and you'll plan those military tactics under my watchful eye; I'm adding an extra hour to make up for the lost time; and be grateful it's not more." Poor Mei looked like he was about to start crying as he was slowly dragged away by En. His eyes found mine as he gave me a pleading look begging me to free him from his horrific fate. _Right! Ren Kouei 9_ _th_ _Imperial Princess of the Kou Empire to the rescue!_

Leaping into action, I jumped in front of a surprised En blocking his way before I used the strength I inherited from my Fanalis lineage to dramatically wrench Koumei from his grip. Standing between them I gave him my best scowl "No! You're not allowed to take Mei away because he promised to take me to the park to feed pigeons today!"

Blinking slightly in surprise, En knelt down to my height and said as patiently as he could "Be that as it may Kouei, but Big brother Mei has a very important job that he has to do for Big brother En so he is busy and can't take you to the park. He has been slacking off and not doing his work so now he has to take time out of his spare time to finish doing it all." At this he gave Mei a dirty glare making him flinch.

Puffing out my cheeks, I reached up and grabbed En's surprised face making him look at me again "No! He promised to spend time with me! And I know what you're really after; you just want another one of those Djinn thingies!" I accused gesturing at his metal vessels to prove my point "You don't even care if Mei gets overworked because you're just greedy for knowledge and power!"

Not giving him any time to recover from my onslaught, I drove my index finger into his collar bone at each of my insults "BADDIE! MEANIE! BULLY! SLAVE-DRIVER! STUPID! DUMMY! You aren't even human! You don't deserve to be a prince! YOU DESERVE TO BE FLUSHED DOWN A TOILET!" Big brother En blinked when I was finished still trying to process my rant.

 **Koumei's POV**

I had to chuckle at the look on my brother and my king's face. He look positively stupefied by the barrage of childish insults that Kouei just hurled at him and if it had been in any other situation, I might have laughed out loud but I opted to cover my smile with my fan this time.

My brother and my king slowly stood up and turned around to leave "I'll let you off this time Koumei… But if I catch you slacking again, I _**will**_ start adding those extra hours" he turned back to glare over his shoulder "Understand?"

Fighting down a victorious cheer with a matching victory dance, I bowed my head so my long bangs would hide my smirk "Yes my brother and my king."

After he walked away, Kouei tugged on my sleeve grinning happily as I smiled down at her.

"Hey Mei! Let's go to the park and feed pigeons!"

"Hai, hai." I smiled gently crouching down so that she could climb onto my back to carry her to the park.

 **Kouen's POV**

I walked along the corridors in the palace barely acknowledging the servants who bowed as I walked past my mind on something else.

 _That Koumei… Using our youngest sister as a shield to get out of doing work… Damn it, smart move… Just what I would expect from the Kou Empire's most talented tactician… But Kouei… She's grown up to be quite the little firecracker exceeding even my expectations…_

Unable to keep my amusement bottled up any longer, I lifted my hand to my chin as I started chuckling quietly "Ufufufufufu~"

"Ummm… Lord Kouen?" Hakuei asked tentatively surrounded by her handmaidens and her younger brother Hakuryuu "Are you… alright…?"

I turned around to smirk at her with a gleam in my eye "…When I tried to drag Koumei back to work, Kouei called me a "baddie" and a "bully" and told me I "deserved to be flushed down a toilet"." I explained before going back to chuckling at the memory.

 **Hakuei's POV**

"Oh… I see…" I nodded understandingly knowing very well of Lord Kouen's unrequited doting love for his youngest sister. I smiled to myself remembering the day just last year when Lord Kouen arrived home after conquering his 3rd dungeon and receiving his 3rd Djinn Phenex. All of our siblings, especially our sisters clamored around him praising him except for Kouei who stood off to the side merely calling him a "tyrannical and greedy man" which he was slightly put out about but didn't think too much on merely assuming at the time that she just didn't care for Djinns very much.

Yet 2 weeks later, he was proven wrong when Lord Koumei came home after successfully securing his 1st Djinn Dantalion and Kouei was all over him hugging him and showering him with kisses and praise much to the 2nd prince's delight and she even requested to become part of his household though he only shook his head ruffling her hair and telling her she was strong enough to obtain her own Djinn so she had no reason to bind herself to him.

Lord Kouen had showed no outward sign of his feelings towards this situation so everyone had assumed that he was fine, but when I went to the sword training site to improve my skills, I saw Lord Kouen hacking away at a practice dummy completely spearing it through before splitting it in half with one almighty hack. Feeling slightly uneasy at the mountain of practice dummies in a similar state behind him, I bade a hasty retreat and left him to cool off alone.

My guess is he likes any attention that Kouei gives him as long as she's more focused on him than Koumei at the moment. Chuckling slightly, I beckoned to my handmaidens and younger brother to follow me and leave Lord Kouen alone.

 **Kouei's POV**

"Hey Mei! Look! That pigeon has a chick!" I giggled pointing and swinging my legs as I sat on my favorite big brother's lap. Following my finger, he too spotted the young bird and smiled throwing a small piece of bread to the baby's mother. "So it has…" pausing to ruffle my hair, he gave me a gentle smile "I never got to say thank you for saving me from an angry Big brother En so… Thank you Kouei."

Snuggling back into his chest I grinned "It's no problem at all Mei! Big Brother En is a meanie for overworking you and I know you get real tired coz you sleep real late and you fall asleep during the day… And if that happens, who would take me out to feed pigeons?" Pausing, I shook my head trying to neaten my hair "…And you're getting breadcrumbs in my hair." I felt Mei's ribcage vibrate as he laughed _…No… They were more like chuckles… Softer… Quieter…_

I frowned slightly when I felt his all-too-prominent ribs digging into my back despite his thick clothes. _He's not getting nearly enough to eat nor enough sleep… I have to get Big Brother En to increase his breaks…_ Just as I thought this, I felt Mei pick me up before standing up and settling me onto his back "Come on Kouei… If we don't start going home now, we won't be in time for the meeting with the foreign king and Big Brother En will throw a fit."

Snuggling into his back, I was painfully aware that his shoulders weren't as broad as a healthy male of his age's should be. Remembering the request I planned to make of Big Brother En, I managed to wave the thought away for now 'Okay… But promise me we'll do this again soon?" I asked hopefully.

Turning around to give me his gentle smile, he started walking home "Of course…"

 _~Time skip to the arrival of the King~_

 **Kouei's POV**

"…And as of this month, Nakano has recorded a 15% decrease in homelessness…" the advisor of the foreign king was already starting to bore me flashing useless statistics in our faces while I sat next to Mei swinging my legs wishing for it all to end soon. Standing behind me, Ryoukan glanced at me nervously the look in his eyes begging me not to lose my patience.

Unlike Mei who was also slouching trying not to look bored out of his mind while he took notes, Big Brother En had perfect posture and maintained a perfect poker face – Even our father who was sitting between Mei and Big Brother En was looking somewhat annoyed at how slow the proceedings were going. None of our other siblings were here because they didn't need to be – actually, I didn't need to be here either, but I insisted on coming to keep Mei company as usual.

For some reason I could never understand, our father not only allowed me to stick around during the meetings but actually approved of and encouraged it; even more so after I had attacked the foreign king from the last meeting. At the time I had been certain that I would get in trouble, but he merely congratulated me for not getting caught and told me that he'd been wanting to do it himself for a while now. I remember being amazed but before I could probe any further he had left; _maybe there was more to my father than I had first thought…_

Snapping myself out of my thoughts, I shifted for what felt like the 100th time that meeting. Mei looked at me sympathetically then hoisted me out of my seat onto his lap so I could look at the papers he was scribbling on. They made absolutely no sense but before I could tell him, he started writing on a new sheet of paper before slipping it in front of me.

 _Kouei, I know you're tired, but try to endure it for the sake of our country_

Grinning, I took the extra pen he offered me and started writing back.

 _I couldn't care less about the stuff he's saying but I wish they had the decency to cut it short… And besides, he's boring enough to make me stop caring about our country; I'll stay put but only for Mei._

I felt him smile while he read my latest message and he reached over to write again – accidentally catching the inkpot with his long sleeve and knocking it over. SPLAT! The airborne ink flew forward splattering all over the foreign king and his talkative advisor who – for the first time since he set foot in our country – stopped talking.

Glaring at Mei like a wild beast, he shook his sleeves out wiping what little ink he could from his face "Clearly you need to fire this advisor of yours and hire a new one; he doesn't even look like he groomed properly despite knowing that he'd be meeting with foreign royalty."

Tightening my grip on Mei's arm, I managed to talk in a calm though strained voice "Uncle, I'm afraid you're mistaken. This man is not a mere advisor; he is the 2nd Imperial Prince of the Kou Empire; Ren Koumei."

…

After an awkward pause, the pompous advisor froze glancing between Mei and myself, eyes flickering occasionally to my father and Big Brother En. "What? But… Surely that cannot be…?" Hearing no words on the contrary from anyone, he bristled and turned on me in an effort to cover his embarrassment. "I… I will not be spoken to in such a way by a mere child of a concubine!"

Snap.

I felt the eyes of all of my relatives and caretaker on my back but I ignored them, blood pounding in my ears. "I may be a child Uncle, but I assure you I am no concubine…" Getting up slowly, I went to stand next to Ryoukan looking at him pointedly. Realizing I wanted him to announce me, he nearly stumbled bowing quickly at me before turning to the advisor and his king "H-hai! Erm… This young lady here is… the 9th Imperial princess of the Kou Empire; Ren Kouei!" I noted in satisfaction that the poor advisor nearly fainted dropping his notepad as he cowered. I almost felt sorry for him… _Almost._

"B-but…" seeing the look on his king's face, he swallowed thickly and bowed first to Koumei then to me "Forgive me your highnesses, I was unaware… I must confess that at first glance, you did not strike me as potential candidates for royalty…" Koumei nodded silently accepting the apology but I couldn't resist getting back at him a little.

Giving my most innocent child-like smile, I settled back into Koumei's lap waving my hand as if dismissing his worries "That's alright Uncle, coz at first glance, you didn't strike me as a potential candidate for the human race."

I heard Ryoukan gasp from behind me and Koumei's fingers twitch slightly in surprise. Glancing over at Big Brother En, I saw that his face was as expressionless as ever but my practiced eye caught a gleam of mirth in his eyes and a slight curling of his lips. The reaction that surprised me the most however was my father throwing his head back and laughing out loud.

"Well that's just grand isn't it…" traces of a smile still on his face, my father addressed the foreign king "Unfortunately at this time, my country has no intention of forming an alliance with your right now." The other king nodded gloomily looking like he had expected this all along "Well, I'll organize an escort to see you over the border then, until next time." With that, my father stood up and exited the room, robes billowing behind him, the other king and his advisor soon following in suit.

"Princess! You… That…" Ryoukan spluttered out trying to find words while I smirked at him "That was what, Ryoukan?" Grinding his teeth in frustration, he tore at his hair "That was exactly what I warned you not to do! You… Why couldn't you have stood down?!"

My eyes darkened at that as my lips twitched into a frown "I didn't mind so much what he said about me, but he was treating Mei like he was trash!" leaning back further into Mei's chest I continued frowning at Ryoukan chin lifted in a silent challenge "He seemed like he was used to walking all over people and I saw no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier."

"…I'm happy to hear you did that all for me but… I don't want you to get in trouble" Mei smiled wrapping his arms around me before resting his chin or cheek – I couldn't tell – on my head "Big Brother Mei can defend himself you know?" I snorted at that "No, I disagree Mei… You wouldn't lift a finger to defend yourself even if he was insulting you a lot worse; and I know that for a fact because of the last meeting we were in… Still, that's part of Mei and you're my favorite brother; if you changed, that would make me really sad coz I love Mei the way he is" I closed my eyes leaning back into his chest.

 **Koumei's POV**

Hearing that, I froze for an instant not being able to help stupid grin of happiness that spread over my face before I resumed combing my fingers through her hair. I could still remember when she was born; I was the first one to hold her right after father and the midwife who delivered her. Back then, she had just a tuft of red hair but now it's grown out quite long… When I asked her why, she told me that she wanted to copy me by having long hair as well. Grinning at the memories, I almost failed to notice a murderous aura coming from my left.

Cautiously, I turned my head only to be confronted with a practically seething Entei. Gulping, I held onto Kouei even tighter hoping that if I avoided being out of her company, he wouldn't catch me alone and yell at me; the only hope I had to cling to was that I knew he certainly wouldn't dare to raise his voice in her presence in fear of scaring her. _He must be miffed that Kouei called me her favorite brother…_

 **Kouei's POV**

Feeling Mei tense up, I looked up at him catching the uneasy expression on his face. Tilting my head slightly, I pulled his sleeve to get his attention "Hey Mei! Let's go back to the park and feed the pigeons!" Looking down to smile at me, Mei opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word out, Big Brother En cut him off.

"I'm sorry Kouei, but it appears that Big Brother Mei has been neglecting his duties again and we are really behind schedule for our next dungeon conquest." At these words, all the color drained from Mei's face and I felt him start to shiver despite the warm temperature in the room "My brother and my king…" He started protesting weakly, but Big Brother En grabbed him by his wrist ready to drag him off "No excuses; I think I've been lenient enough." Before I could protest on Mei's behalf, the two had disappeared, towed off to some mysterious location by my eldest brother.

"…!" I grinded my teeth together running my hands through my hair in frustration while Ryoukan crouched down next to me patting me on the head "There there princess… It's time for your lessons anyway…" Still shaking my head in exasperation, I followed my caretaker and mentor as he led me to the palace training grounds.

 _~Smallish time skip to 2 hours later~_

 **Kouei's POV**

Ducking, dodging and weaving around his blows, I slipped past my fighting teacher's guard and landed a blow on his face bashing in his nose with a sickening crunch. Stepping back, I waited for him to get back up to see if he was alright. Sitting up slowly, he touched his nose wincing slightly when his hand came away covered in blood "I yield, princess; dare I say that's one mighty good arm you've got there." The former general, Lord Ourei smiled through his attempts to stem the bleeding from his nose.

Coming out of my fighting stance, I relaxed my posture grinning as I wiped away some of the sweat on my face "That was a good fight; Marvelous as always princess!' Ryoukan had come up to me offering me a towel "Come, after you take a shower, there is tea and light snacks waiting for you inside – Mistress Lea is busy so your magic and magoi manipulation classes are cancelled today." Absently wrapping the towel around my neck, I followed my caretaker back inside letting the palace maids wash me.

 _~Short time skip after shower~_

 **Kouei's POV**

"It all looks so good!" my eyes lit up in pleasure as I stared at the assortment of sweet delicacies littering the table "Thanks for everything as always, Ryoukan…" my mentor smiled patting my head "It's my pleasure; you deserved a treat after your training today princess… although remember! Don't breathe a word of this to Lord Kouen alright?"

"Hai~~~" I picked up my fork digging into the first dessert which happened to be an egg tart "It's delicious" I said with my mouth full. Ignoring the breach in my manners, Lord Ourei picked up his cup toasting at me "To the birth of the strongest warrior princess I've ever had the pleasure of teaching" Grinning, I returned the gesture before drinking "And to my fine instructors."

"Oh! Even the tea is good! He must be tired so I should take some of this up to Mei! Could I have a pot of this tea, a tray of these sweets and some smoked squid?" I asked the maid that served us. Bowing, she went to collect the items that I requested "As you wish milady."

I sat around chatting idly until the maid returned and I took the items she proffered bidding them good bye before heading off to where I remembered Mei's office to be.

Standing in front of the door to his room, I knocked once before opening the door with a close-eyed smile "Hey Mei! The maids prepared some yummy tea and sweets and I know you're probably really tired so I wanted you to try some!"

"…Kouei?" _…? That wasn't Mei's voice! That voice is…!_ Opening my eyes, I saw Big Brother En leisurely reading a book while poor Mei looked ready to pass out from working on all of the scrolls covering the desk I front of him. He perked up when he saw me at the door holding food.

 **Koumei's POV**

Planning strategy after strategy under my brother and king's watchful eye, I was getting increasingly bored and tired; I didn't even know how much time had passed anymore, all that I knew was that between 15 to 20 minutes into it, I had started questioning the meaning of life and why I was still alive.

But then suddenly, while looking at a map of the terrain surrounding the dungeon Judar had raised – I was beginning to think that he had raised it just to give me more work and spite me – I heard someone call my name. Looking up to the direction that the voice had come from, I saw _… an angel…_

 **Kouei's POV**

I blinked at the sight of Big Brother En _…Okay I was not expecting him to be here…_ looking down at the things I had brought, I frowned slightly _…I only brought 2 cups…_ shrugging it off, I set one cup in front of each of my brothers pouring out tea for both of them trying to ignore Big Brother En's stare. Smiling gently at me, Mei's eyes lit up when I set his favorite smoked squid in front of him. Seeing him pat his lap, I accepted his invitation and slid into his lap pulling out one of the desserts I had brought along "Thank you Kouei... you're always so good to me…" he murmured sipping at his tea.

Frowning at his sleepy tone which was even sleepier than usual, I reached up and brushed his hair with my fingers. It was really greasy _… Yuck…_ Pulling my hand away, I grabbed his face surprising him but I really needed to make sure I had his attention "Mei! You should go take a bath; your hair's super greasy! Have a nice, long, relaxing bath… In fact, lean forward!" Giving a tired and confused expression, Mei did as he was told, chest pressing against the cool mahogany table.

Getting up on the chair behind him, I started groping along his shoulders and back clicking my tongue in disapproval "As I thought, your muscles are way too tense and sore… No matter, just lie still."

"What are you…? Ooh~" Mei gave a very pleased moan as I started massaging his tense muscles. I brushed his long hair out of the way gently pushing him down even further to give me better access "You need a nice rest Mei" I frowned at how far his physical state had deteriorated "You should definitely get a bath… As soon as possible… Get a maid to help you wash your hair and rub oils into your back after they massage it – No excuses, you need this!" I fussed like a mother hen.

"Mmmh~! Can't you do it instead?" Mei looked over his shoulder with an expression like a kicked puppy "Your fingers are magical~ we can have a bath together and we can wash each other's backs just like old times" Not having the heart to tell him I'd already had a bath today, I stopped massaging and got off the chair tugging at his sleeve grinning "Good idea! Come on Mei!" Smiling, Mei got to his feet and left the room to go the bathhouse pulled along after me "Hai Hai."

 **Kouen's POV**

I blinked slowly, trying to process everything that just happened _…So she even brings him his snacks, tea and his favorite food while he's working… Exactly what did Koumei do to achieve this level of favoritism from Kouei? Not only that, but… she massages him when he's tired… and they take baths together…_ Shaking my head, I decided to let it go this time, mind drifting off elsewhere.

 _~At the bath house~_

 **Kouei's POV**

"Mei~ I think I just used up half the bottle of shampoo trying to get rid of all the dirt and grease in your hair!" I whined washing his hair as he lay in my lap "And your hair's really dry as well… Honestly… Take better care of yourself…"

I squirted some of the conditioner out of the bottle before shrugging and unscrewing the whole cap, dumping all of the contents onto his hair "Stay still or some of it might get into your eyes" I warned massaging the conditioner through his hair before washing it clean "Yes mother" he smiled closing his eyes contentedly.

"Alright… Your hair's done, now turn around so I can use these" I held up the bottles of scented oils that Mei had picked out after briefly sniffing them. Turning around obediently, Mei looked over his shoulder expectantly waiting for me to "work my magic" as he called it "I could stay here forever…" he murmured blissfully once I got started.

 _~Time skip~_

 **Kouei's POV**

After escorting Mei back to his room, I practically shoved him into his bed insisting that he get the nice rest that he deserved. He had protested weakly at first, but after being deprived of sleep for so many nights in a row, he was weakened to the point where he was in no condition to put up even a semi-decent fight of strength and he went unconscious almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

"Good night Mei…" I murmured smoothing his bangs back after pulling it out of its usual ponytail "Sweet dreams" kissing him on the forehead, I left to go back to a certain place…

…

Slipping silently into Mei's study, I held up the candle in my hand, spotting the documents covering his desk almost instantly. Grinning, I immediately dashed towards them sliding into his chair and picking up his pen.

"If I do all of this, then Big Brother En will be happy coz the work is done… Mei will be happy coz he'll have more free time… and I'll be happy coz Mei can come to feed pigeons with me in his free time!" I cheered as loudly as I dared not wanting to wake anyone up at this ungodly hour. "Now… this says…" I squinted at the map then the figures on the scroll "…The funds the treasurer has allowed for this mission is… 50'000 huang…? That's plenty, so what's the problem?" I frowned scanning through the page trying to identify the problem which didn't take very long to find.

"… "request from Judar: 1000 cavalry – coz it'd be kinda cool"…?" I sweatdropped at the ludicrous request by the childish Magi "What kind of (censored) is this?! And he's even 4 years older than me…" I growled savagely inking a line through the offending sentence, crossing off his request without a second thought "Just 200 is plenty… along with Mei and Big Brother En as the leaders… travel light and fast; 3 days to get there and allowing for a day to be spent in the dungeon… plus 3 days to get back, that's a week's worth of supplies for 200 men and horses… no… the horses can eat grass and stuff…" I muttered to myself picking up Mei's abacus.

"A day's worth of rations is about 15 huang and water would be around 3 huang so 18 huang in total give or take… which means if you round it up to 20 a week's worth is 140 huang, and for 200 men, that's 28000 huang… if you use pre-existing soldiers, there'll be no need to pay to arm them, so… bringing along spares and maintenance equipment… 2000 huang should be plenty right? 30000 huang… and that leaves 20000 huang in case Mei wants to make any final adjustments… Go me!" I punched my fists into the air triumphantly "I could go at this all night and be done in no time!"

"Yes… I must applaud you that was rather well done." _That voice!_ Whipping my head around, I saw a certain older brother of mine sitting in a chair watching me "M-My brother and my king…" I addressed him respectfully before I swallowed nervously not meeting his eye. _This is awkward… I've never been alone with him before and he seems a lot scarier when Mei isn't here with me… Maybe if I act like Mei, he'll leave me alone like he leaves Mei alone…_

"Kouei, did you hear me? I asked you a question." Noticing that his voice was much closer now, I swallowed slightly before glancing off to the side not meeting his gaze "Yes my brother and my king?" I heard a sigh before I felt fingers under my chin turning my head towards him. I gulped at his crimson eyes boring into mine "Kouei… What happened to calling me "Big Brother En"? Are you that nervous around me? Is that why you'd rather go running off to Koumei?"

"My lord… you are mistaken… Mei is my brother and he's always treated me like a sister but…" looking away from him the best as I could while his hand was still grasping my face I shook nervously "But… you are my king and I am only your vassal… the only reason why I'm not as uncomfortable around Mei is because he has no interest in being a king; he only wants to serve you and… I am the same so…" trying to break free of his grip as quickly as I could without causing offence, I moved away from his hand.

Watching my every movement, he let me shy away from his touch, but just as I was about to edge away and return to working, he grabbed my wrist pulling me into his chest "Lies…" he murmured softly "Tell me, what is it that truly makes you fear me? It's not reverence… Is it perhaps the fact that I seem greedy enough for knowledge and power that I'd do anything to get my hands on either?" feeling me stiffen in his arms, he pulled back with a conflicted look in his eyes.

"…I see… Is that so…?" Giving up, I asked the one question that had been eating away at me for the past 10 years of my life "…Big Brother En…?" his lips twitched upwards into a small smile as he waited for me to go on "If… If you could find out all you want about everything all at once by sacrificing Mei, Kouha, Kougyoku, Hakuei and me… would you do it…?" I avoided his gaze, not wanting to see his reaction.

 **Kouen's POV**

I stiffened at her question; that was the last thing I'd been expecting her to ask and it made me sick to the bottom of my stomach. Looking down at her as she buried her face into my chest wrapping her arms around my waist, I felt the dampness from her tears soak into my robes "…Is that… What you think I'd do…? What you think of me…?" I asked trying not to let any of my troubled emotions into my voice "…Do you think I'm that much of a monster…?"

 **Kouei's POV**

I felt Big Brother En pat my head before pulling back so he could kneel down to my eye level cupping my cheeks to make sure he had my undivided attention "Kouei… I'm curious about this world and I would do many things to achieve my goals… but believe me when I say I would never sacrifice you or the others…"

Caressing my cheek, his eyes softened making him look much kinder "I love you Kouei, I know I haven't been as good of an older brother Koumei or even Kouha, but know that I wouldn't ever use you just to make ends meet." Ruffling my hair once more, he made to get back up to his full height, but before he could stand, I quickly wrapped my arms around his neck squeezing "…I love you too Big Brother En…" I felt him pick me up and carry me to Koumei's desk, seating me in his lap.

"Kouei, there's nothing wrong with wanting to lighten Koumei's workload, but he's the finest tactician in this country so his strategies and battle plans are second to none so his work is very important…" Puffing out my cheeks indignantly, I turned sharply to glare at my eldest brother "Are you saying my strategies suck?! But Mei taught me himself- MMPH!"

"Shhh…" Big Brother En had one hand over my mouth silencing me bringing the index finger of his free hand up to his lips in a shushing gesture "You'll wake up everyone else, and I'm not saying your strategy is bad… Only that you forgot to take into account what would happen if such a small force were to encounter an enemy army." _200 men against a 5000 man strong army from the Leim Empire… It would be a blood bath_ … I gulped at the image my mind managed to conjure.

Cradling me gently to stop shivers I didn't even know started, Big Brother En slid the document I was writing on in front of me so I could see it "Rather than focusing purely on speed or strength, you should get a balance between the two; 500 men or even 400 at the very least" dipping the pen in the inkpot, he started writing "Also, you forgot that we need to reward the soldiers for their efforts or no one will want to volunteer so that will cost a lot more money as well.'

Frowning, I leaned back into his chest "If that's the case, aren't the funds for this mission kind of too low to make this work?" I asked absently flicking at Mei's abacus. Lips twitching slightly, Big Brother En looked up from his work setting his pen down "And that's why Koumei's job is so important… It's his job to plan the best strategy he can with the funds he gets given."

"Hunh~" I looked up from the abacus to glare at him accusingly "You're not giving him much to work with and you're making him work his butt off too… he hasn't even got time to eat and sleep properly… More funds and more rest would be nice for Mei…" Blinking slightly at my complaints, Big Brother En stared blankly at me for a few moments before recovering "…Very well, I will arrange for Koumei to have additional break times… but as for funds, you will have to take that up to the treasurers"

Smiling at the fact that he was at least willing to make things easier for Mei, I threw my arms around his neck "…Hey Big brother En…Thanks Eheheheh~" Thinking of a devious idea, I gave a close eyed smile "Say… Treasure is very valuable and can be sold for a lot right…?" I asked as innocently as I could.

 **Kouen' POV**

I frowned suspiciously "…I suppose…" I said cautiously eying my 10 year old sister for any signs of what she might be up to "…May I ask why…?"

 **Kouei's POV**

"Oh it's nothing… I just thought of a good way to make lots of money!" I grinned at Big Brother En's dumbfounded expression.

"Kouei, What are you-?!"

"Nothing! Good night!" I dashed off before he could stop me and question my motives. _Sorry Big Brother En… But this is a secret~ I just need to go see someone…_ Running past the kitchens I picked up some peaches to appease the person I was going to visit who would not doubt be beyond pissed at my sudden visit. Stopping abruptly in front of my destination, I gave 3 knocks before standing back expectantly waiting for the resident to open the door.

"Who is it this goddamn late?!" an irritable voice spoke up followed by the creaking of someone getting out of a bed "You better have a good reason or I will freeze you to death after I give you frostbite!"

 _~End of Chapter 1~_

 _Apologies for any errors or anything you didn't like and please tell me in reviews what you didn't like/ what can be improved! xD_

 _I'll keep updating depending on how much love I get :D_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 _At the previous chapter, Kouei came up with an idea involving treasure to make a lot of money all at once and she dashed off to find someone… But who is this someone and who is her plan?_

 **Start of actual chapter:**

The door creaked open and I came face to face with the bleary red eyes of our Empire's oracle Judal. Combing his bangs out of his face with one hand, he eyed me over "…Oh, it's the midget, what do you want?" he scowled leaning against the doorway, but I ignored his threats and hostile attitude, my attention focused on something else.

Reaching out a hand, I ran my fingers through his long silky black hair "…I've never seen you with your hair down Judal… You're hair's really shiny and nice, even nicer than Kougyoku and Hakuei's" I commented still sifting through his soft locks.

Face reddening he slapped my hand away "Sh-Shut up! It's not like I'm happy about you praising it… Even though I do suppose that it is the finest hair you've ever seen right? Did you know I've never cut it even once?" Cracking one eye open, he blushed when he saw my awed expression "W-well… I suppose since you know nice hair when you see it, I'll let you touch it just this once – be grateful and don't get used to it, this is a one-time thing got it?!" he strutted off to sit on his bed inviting me to sit next to him by patting a spot next to him which I did without hesitation still admiring his hair.

"…So… what did you want kiddo?" he asked again watching me comparing our hair. Snapping out of my state of borderline worship for Judal's hair, I looked at him eyes shining hopefully "Hey Judal, is it super hard for you to raise a dungeon?" Cocking a brow, he looked at me curiously "…Not really, but why?"

"Okay… that's good; coz I wanted to conquer one!" I cheered punching my fists into the air.

"…You're crazy" he said flatly stretching his arms out "Even En was 16 when he conquered his first 2 dungeons; and you're not even a teenager yet! What makes you think you have what it takes?"

"...I think without his metal vessels, I might actually be stronger than Big Brother En even though he's older than me, because I'm-" I raised my fist, bringing it down hard on the nearest piece of furniture reducing it to splinters under Judal's wide eyes "part Fanalis" I finished bringing my hand out of the wreckage that used to be Judal's bedside table.

Blinking at the mess I just made, a smirk slowly spread over Judal's face "Hey… Will you look at that… The bratty youngest princess _does_ have something up her sleeve after all…" turning over to me, he started sifting through his (thankfully intact) wardrobe getting dressed "Alrighty… you already woke me up so no point going back to bed…" finishing tying up his hair, he got on his magic carpet gesturing for me to do the same "You're lucky I'm in a good mood midget."

Getting on next to him I grinned wrapping my arms around his waist to not fall off "Sorry, but you're more used to flying than me so you probably won't fall right?"

 **Judal's POV**

"Damn brat…" I muttered feeling my cheeks go pink "Just shut up and sit still until we get there got it?"

"…" Annoyed at her lack of response, I glanced at the brat about to yell at her before I noticed that her eyes were closed lost in dreamland. To be honest, I didn't really think she was that much of a brat, but growing up being brought up by _them_ tends to make anyone a bit bitter and untrusting.

 _~Flash back 4 years ago to the day Judal and Kouei first met~_

 **Judal's POV**

"Hey! You there!" _Hunh?_ I frowned glancing up from practicing magic seeing a red-haired kid running towards me. Rolling my eyes, I turned away ignoring her, continuing to practice my magic hearing the footsteps come closer and closer until they stopped right next to me.

"Heya~ are you new around here?" Scowling, I turned to face the girl for the second time. _Beautiful silk clothes, an expensive looking hairpin, red hair and innocently blinking wide eyes of the same shade…_ I gritted my teeth at that. _Probably a spoiled and pampered little brat_ … my eyes narrowed as she smiled up at me with closed eyes _…I hate her!_ Glaring now, I returned to practicing my magic.

"I'm Judal, the Magi and oracle of this Empire, got that! Address me with respect!" I sneered sneaking a peek at her, waiting for her to cower or run; but instead her smile got even wider.

"Heh~ a Magi huh? So you're like super strong? Do you want to be friends?!" She asked eyes sparkling. Scowling at the fact that she didn't run away crying, I set down my staff then shoved her laughing as she fell "You think _I_ , a great Magi would want to be friends with the likes of _you_?!" I chuckled at her naivety "Damn brat! Go home and play house!" I watched grin widening as she sat up slowly and picked up the broken remains of her hairpin.

"Aah~ I guess it's broken" she frowned a saddened look on her face ignoring the blood that was beginning to drip from her nose. Before I could open my mouth to taunt her more, the sound of a distant voice got my attention "PRINCESS!"

"!" the red-haired brat stood up shifting sheepishly as a man ran up to us panting. Grabbing her by the shoulders and kneeling down to her eye level, he nearly fainted at the sight of her bleeding nose "Y-your Highness! Why must you worry me so?! His majesty put me in charge of your wellbeing!" He fussed like a mother hen _…! So she's a princess?!_ I crossed my arms sulkily waiting for her to cry and blab on me.

Grinning sheepishly the red-haired girl – Princess – scratched her cheek "I'm sorry Ryoukan, I slipped and fell… I'm perfectly fine and A-OK though!" she flashed a comical thumbs up through a bleeding nose. Sighing, her manservant Ryoukan pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it up to her bleeding nose attempting to stem the flow "Honestly Princess… You're going to get me in a lot of trouble one day…" Picking her up, he made to leave, "Now let's get you properly healed."

Scowling, I followed them discreetly, just waiting for her to spill the beans and get me in trouble crying over her injuries and broken hairpin. Arriving at the infirmary, I waited outside eaves-dropping.

"Oh my…! Princess! Your hairpin is broken!"

"…I know Ryoukan… Don't remind me…" I grinned hearing the strain in her voice as she tried not to cry _…Stupid Princess… only cares about pretty things huh?_

"…Princess… Isn't this the one Prince Koumei gave you?"

I heard shuffling as the Princess presumably shifted around "…Yeah… I didn't used to like hairpins, but Mei bought it for me saying it was pretty on me so I started wearing them… But now it's broken! What he going to say…?"

At that moment, I heard footsteps coming closer. Looking up, I saw a confused Prince Koumei standing in front of me, looking at me blinking curiously as he held his fan, a small neatly wrapped parcel in his other hand. Scowling, I motioned for him to move on without comment which he did gladly, almost stumbling as he stepped into the infirmary trying to avoid my glare.

"…! Ah! Mei!"

"Kouei… Are you alright? Why are you crying? Does it hurt a lot..?" _So her name's Kouei…_ I thought _…Interesting…_ I shook my head, clearing my thoughts to listen in on what was said next.

"No… It doesn't hurt… But Mei! I'm sorry! The hairpin you bought me got broken because I was so clumsy! Even though you took good care of the fan I bought for you…"

Opening the door a crack, I peered in seeing Kouei's crying face, but for some reason, the feeling that tugged at me wasn't satisfaction, but something that made me feel uncomfortable… Something that made me want to apologize… Guilt…? _No!_ I shook my head violently; _I, the great Judal do not feel guilty!_ Turning back to the scene, I saw Prince Koumei unwrap the package he had brought along, bringing out a beautiful gold chain necklace with a large heart-shaped ruby pendant on it.

 **Narrator's POV (3** **rd** **Person)**

Seating Kouei on his lap so he could fasten it around her neck, Koumei smiled "…I heard you got hurt so I came to visit you and I saw a vendor selling this… its colors reminded me of your hair and eyes so I bought it as a get well gift… It has one more secret function but I hope you never have to find out about it…; take good care of it okay?"

Admiring the necklace, she grinned "Mei! You didn't have to… You could've gotten something cheaper; you know that you could've given me a bracelet made of rope and I'd still treasure it because you were the one who gave it to me?"

Resting his cheek on his undeniably favorite sister's head, Koumei smiled "I know I don't have to but I want to. I only want the best for my little sister and I know you'd treasure it no matter what it was that I gave you… Only that I want to give you something actually worth treasuring…"

 **Judal's POV**

Getting up slowly, I walked into the infirmary blushing slightly.

"Judal!" Kouei smiled and got off Koumei's lap to walk up to me "Why are you here? Are you hurt too?"

I looked to the side scowling "…We can be friends I guess…" I mumbled

"Huh?" she cocked her head to the side cluelessly.

"I SAID WE CAN BE FRIENDS!" I shouted seething. _How can she be so oblivious to everything?!_

"O-Okay…" She grinned while Koumei smiled from behind her "Nice to meet you Judal!"

 _~End of Flash back~_

 **Judal's POV**

 _I really had thought that she'd just be a spoiled brat like a pampered little princess, but over the years, she'd really proved me wrong – not that I'll ever admit this out loud of course…_

"…Damn brat…" I sighed letting her hang onto me while we soared through the air searching for a good place to raise a dungeon.

…

 **Kouei's POV**

"Is this it…?" I looked up at the tower that Judal just made appear out of nowhere and the portal shifting and shimmering at the front frowning slightly.

"Yep~ En had to do this too you know" Judal glanced back at me from over his shoulder "Twice in fact… Why? Getting cold feet? Not too late to back out, you know? I wouldn't blame you; entire armies have gone in and never come out-"

"I'm going in" I cut across Judal eying down the building determinedly "Are you coming with me or are _you_ the one getting cold feet?"

"WHAT?! Why you-! Have more respect for your Magi! I'm coming in but not because you told me to! I'm coming in to prove I'm not scared!" Scowling, said Magi pushed past me, hand reaching for the door.

"Judal? Shouldn't we knock first-?!" I was cut off when an unknown force dragged Judal and I through the door and into the dungeon. _What the-?!_ Finally managing to get over the shock of the abrupt movement, the first thing I saw once I dared to open my eyes after passing through the doors was the view of the earth from up in the night sky surrounded by countless bright stars…

" _Incredible…_ " I managed to breathe out before the darkness took over.

…

… _ **-ei…! Kouei…!**_

… _Hmm…? What's that…? Someone… calling me…?_

… _ **Kouei…! Kouei…!**_

… _I probably fell asleep during a tutoring session… I bet they called Mei to come and try to wake me up as always…_

 _ **Kouei…! KOUEI!**_

SMACK!

"Hmmm?" I opened my red eyes blinking slowly as a blurred frantically moving figure came into focus.

'GODDAMN! SHIT! Kouei, why are you so damn hard-headed?!" Judal's voice pierced through the bleariness snapping me wide awake as the memories came flooding back. Sitting up slowly, I watched, rubbing at my eyes as a certain raven-haired Magi pranced around the room cradling his stinging hand using language that could make even a sailor blush.

"Well, whatever." Judal sighed after a most impressive rant "Let's get a move-on then, midget." looking over his shoulder as he wrapped his arms casually behind his head, he narrowed his eyes "Wouldn't want to make Koumei worry for too long, would you?"

Quickly shaking my head 'no' remembering the last time I'd made Mei worry, I immediately picked myself up dusting off my pants to follow Judal falling in step alongside him. _A worried Mei was never good… The last time he'd been really worried was about half a year ago when I got a fever…_

At the time, he had rode out to battle and was currently fighting and making strategies for overtaking another kingdom, but as soon as he caught wind of my condition, he immediately left to rush back to the Kou Empire on the fastest horse he could steal (which happened to be En's much to his chagrin) so that he could stay by my bedside coddling, pampering and catering to my every whim.

I didn't ask him for much, telling him I was fine, but he didn't buy it, wanting to sleep over at the clinic until Mistress Lea got fed up and booted him out, telling him visiting hours were over. Funny thing was though, that he spent the whole night being worried sick about me that he got a fever as well and was soon in the bed next to me smiling weakly as a fuming Mistress Lea gave him a most impressive lecture.

I grinned fondly at the memories, not noticing when Judal wandered quite far ahead of me. _**Too far.**_ "Hey Kouei, what's with that grin on your face-?!" My heart leapt to my throat at the sound of Judal's voice rising and cracking as he miss-stepped onto a switch cleverly disguised into a brick on the floor triggering the trap that made the floor beneath his feet give way.

My eyes narrowed, blood pounding in my ears as my Fanalis instincts took over – I don't know what happened or how I got here, but next thing I knew, I was holding a bewildered Judal's arm saving him from a horrible death of being impaled by the spikes in the pit beneath him. We stared mutely at each other for a while, still shocked by the near death experience until the soft thud of my heavy outer robes hitting the floor behind me – _**when had I even taken them off?**_ – broke the silence.

"Kouei…" Judal's voice snapped me out of my temporary trance. Blinking, I hoisted the dazed Magi out of the pit that would have claimed his life and gently set him down next to me before walking back to retrieve my robes balking slightly at the unsightly foot-shaped crater I'd unwittingly stamped into the otherwise pristine brick floor.

Tearing my eyes away from the sight, I grimaced and beckoned to Judal "Let's go"

 _~Meanwhile: outside of the dungeon~_

 **Narrator's POV (3** **rd** **Person)**

Panting as it ran, a robed figure burst into a clearing surrounding a cliff.

"Hey! Get back here! I'm not done with you!"

Flinching at the sound of the voice, the figure stumbled in an attempt to escape – "!" tripping over a tree root and falling over the edge of the cliff plummeting through the canopy of the dense greenery below.

"…Oof! Huh?" the figure rose slowly looking at the majestic tower that it had just landed in front of, staring down the familiar sight of the shifting portal at the entrance that had long been ingrained into the memories of its youth.

Picking itself up dusting off its robes as it checked its surroundings, the figure grinned to itself.

"I got time to kill anyway… and let's face it – this sure beats having to face an angry Ja'far…" long purple bangs were blown back by the wind revealing vivid gold eyes alight with excitement "Oh man... I won't hear the end of this for months to come, but the adventure's gonna be worth it!"

With that, Sinbad, the High king of the Seven seas, Founder and King of Sindria and the First class Singularity stepped through the portal into the dungeon.

 _~Back with Kouei and Judal~_

 **Kouei's POV**

This was crazy. Traps and monsters at every twist and turn. Puzzles and riddles that release monsters if you get them wrong. But that was nothing, _because compared to those…_

"KOUEI! Hurry and conquer this dungeon! I WANT TO GO HOME! I want a place where someone will make my bed and cook me hot meals and lots of peaches!" Judal screamed into my ear practically sobbing.

Apparently Judal had really low stamina, because after the Djinn of this dungeon forbid the use of Rukh and magic as part of the test, he had to walk instead of using his magic carpet and after the first 30 minutes or so…

"Hurry up and walk faster, I want to go home and get out of this nasty dungeon please." Judal pouted smacking me on the shoulder as I piggy-backed him. _Note to self: En was wrong, Judal actually can say "please" given extreme circumstances_. Grinning in spite of myself, I silently thanked the gods that Judal was a lot lighter than he looked "Yeah, you're not the only one that wants to go home; just hang on tight and we'll be home before you know it okay?"

"Yea… I just really wanna…"

"?" I looked over my shoulder to see the face of a sleeping Judal staring back at me. _Well it can't be helped…_ Looking around, I accessed what possible places we could take shelter in.

…

Spreading my outer coat over the sleeping Judal, I turned sharply, searching for potential enemies, my eyes and ears completely alert. The place I had chosen was by no means concealed, but it was on higher ground meaning I would have the advantage over any dungeon monsters with funny ideas.

 _ **Or so I had thought.**_

 _~Meanwhile with Sinbad~_

 **Sinbad's POV**

"…" kneeling down, I inspected the deep indentation on the floor, fingers running over it.

 _My king… What's wrong?_

"Valefor… I wonder if you know what this is?" I asked frowning as possible scenarios ran through my head.

… _A footprint…?_

"Right. So it means someone was here before us, and judging by how there's no dust gathering, I'd say quite recently too…"

 _It could have been left by one of the dungeon monsters; the monsters at my dungeon weren't that well-behaved either._

"Close, but no." I held up a strand of red that had caught my eye "Look at this; this is definitely human hair… Someone's here in the dungeon with us." _It really was a lovely strand of hair…_ I thought turning it over in my hands. _Beautiful shade of red… it's quite long too so it probably belongs to a female…_ Grinning, I closed my hand over it. _Can't wait to meet the girl it belongs to!_ Hearing Valefor's voice in my head brought me back to reality.

 _You're kidding me! What kind of monster of a human being could leave behind a crater like this?!_

I nodded my head grimly "That's not the only thing that troubles me…"

 _Huh…?_

… _ **Is it the size my king?**_

"Yeah… Baal's right Valefor, this footprint is far too small…" I put my own foot against it for comparison "…This footprint belongs to a child or possibly a small woman…" taking my foot away, I continued down the dungeon grinning as I pocketed the strand of hair "This trip might be even more interesting than I thought…"

 _~Back with Judal and Kouei~_

 **Kouei's POV**

 _How many more are there?!_ I thought fighting off the winged gremlins, but they seemed to keep on coming. It might just be my sense of helplessness catching up to me, but by now, I felt like for every 1 I killed, 2 more came back to take its place.

Still… It wasn't like I could just leave a sleeping Judal to fend for himself, so I kept fighting grimly, trying not to let any get past me. Well thinking that is easy, but in the dim lighting, I couldn't really tell where they were by sight; my only clue being the sound from the flapping of their wings.

 **"SKREEEE!"**

"!" I turned to the source of the noise but it didn't seem to be an attack. Rather… _it seemed like a signal for even more of the gremlins to join the battle...!_ All at once, the screeches increased and although I couldn't see them very well, I could feel the bodies of countless gremlins pushing up against me scratching and biting. _Is this where I'm going to die?! If so...!_

"JUDAL! Wake up! Get out of here and run!" I yelled as loudly as I could "There's too many of them; see if you can get away!"

"KOUEI!" I heard Judal's muffled yells from somewhere behind me "What the hell's going on?!"

'Never mind that! JUST GO!" I tried to fight my way out of the army of gremlins, but there were just too many of them. All those hours of guarding Judal while he slept with all my senses and nerves pulled taut and stretched to their limit was finally taking its toll on me.

 **Judal's POV**

"Dammit…!" I turned away from Kouei's voice – I couldn't even see her through all of those damn monsters – and ran back the other way, back past all of the doors and traps that we passed, not caring that I was going back to the entrance; in my panic, I'd forgotten that once you enter a dungeon, you can't leave again until it's been conquered.

 _If only...! If only I could use magic, I'd have us out of here in no time flat_ \- "MMPH!" I ran into wall that suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the tunnel. Snarling, I pulled back only to see a guy with long purple hair and a ton of jewelry standing in front of me with a bemused expression – _Wait what?!_

"How the fuck did you get in here?! This is a dungeon that I raised for Kouei!" I yelled holding up my staff threateningly "If you think you can just waltz in here and-!" I was cut off when he suddenly leaned down really close – so close in fact, that our noses were practically touching.

"… Ooh… You're hair's not red…" he sighed in disappointment. _WHAT THE FUCK?!_

"So what if it's not red?! It's still the best hair in the world! Kouei said so!" I yelled stamping my foot. _Does this guy not know how much work it is to maintain and groom hair like this every day?! The nerve!_

 **Sinbad's POV**

My ears pricked up at the mention of another person "…Kouei…?" I asked hopefully. Maybe that was the name of the mysterious owner of the hair in my pocket; except this guy didn't seem to want to cooperate with me.

Scowling, he pointed his staff down the dungeon "Yeah! Kouei! She's really strong and she wanted to conquer a dungeon so I raised this one for her!" lowering his staff slightly, his eyes flickered with a bit of…Regret…? "I got tired and I must've fallen asleep because the next thing I knew… She was telling me to wake up and run…" Pulling the robe draped over his shoulders tighter around himself, he frowned "I wanted to help, but… I wasn't strong enough so I had to run instead... How pathetic…"

 _So it's a girl after all… and she's the chivalrous type…_ Grinning at the thought of meeting a girl like that, I clapped the boy on the back "Not to worry; we'll get to her in no time! So what are you waiting for? Let's go!" Grabbing his arm, I ran along the tunnel impatiently "Do you remember which direction you guys went?"

"…No, not really…" turning his head to the side, he scowled slightly "…And you didn't see how many of them there were… she's probably dead by now…"

"Nonsense!"

We continued to run along the dungeon and I wish I could say we got along really well, _but…_

…

"NONONO! This is definitely the wrong way! I don't remember seeing that rock over there! You really suck at this don't you Mister?!" the boy's nagging as he slapped the back of my head and pulled at my hair as I piggy-backed him made me grit my teeth. _Whoever this Kouei is must have an impressive amount of patience to put up with this guy…_

"...Look…" I finally managed to get out in a strained voice after doing the breathing exercises Ja'far taught me "Firstly, I have a name… Secondly… I know this is the right way because that's what the waves are telling me…"

"Waves?! Hah?! Are you stupid or something?! I, the great Judal, have never heard of anything like that in all 14 years of my awesome life!"

 _So Judal is his name…_ I thought giving a tight-lipped smile; _I hope I never have to deal with his whining ever again after this…_

Passing through yet another door, I saw something that made me weep from relief; the door to the treasure room and the two orbs that act as keys on twin pedestals guarded by a large black horse with bright yellow eyes and a mane and tail of flickering blue flames.

Looking around scanning the entire room, I saw no sign of anyone else. "…Looks like it's the treasure room and no sign of your friend Kouei… I'm sorry" I murmured softly at the sight of Judal's distraught expression.

"N…No…" tears started to gather at the corner of his red eyes trickling down his face dripping from his chin "...I rose this Dungeon… I left her behind to die… Oh my god I…" he pulled at his hair with shaking hands "I… I practically killed her! Why did I leave her behind?! WHY?!"

I watched as he slid down from my back to curl into a ball, wracking sobs shaking his shoulders. _So in the end I never got to meet her…_ I thought as strong disappointment clouded my mind upon realising that I'd never see the mysterious owner of the red hair. _Such a pity especially since she was strong enough to do that kind of damage at so young an age… Well there's nothing for it._

"Well I'll go ahead and clear this dungeon if that's okay with you…" I said awkwardly not knowing how to approach the shell-shocked boy "...I'm sure you should go home too and tell her family what happened…"

Finally wiping his eyes and standing up, Judal shrugged in a very offhand manner "Well… Do as you must I guess… Mind you I can't fight, so I'll just stay here…"

With that, I dived at the horse pulling out my sword "Dwell in my body: Baal!" Feeling my Djinn equip cover my body, I grinned, pointing my sword at the horse " **Bararaq Saiqa!** " I gave a satisfied grin at the resulting explosion and sauntered over to the orbs eagerly, dissolving my Djinn equip as I did "Now... how do I do this…?"

"OI! STUPID! LOOK OUT!"

"!" I turned back at the sound of Judal's voice only to see the horse from before charging up a fireball, and was it just my imagination or did it seem bigger too?! _Shit!_

Holding up my bracelet, I called out "Dwell in my body: Focalor-!"

 _ **It's no use my king, that horse is feeding off of the magoi from your attacks to grow bigger and stronger; you would probably do well to fight normally.**_

"What?! Fight normally?!" I wailed "But I haven't had to do that since I was 14! And nowadays, there's a reason why Masrur is the fighting instructor at Sindria not me!"

 _Good luck my king; you'll probably need it…_

"Have you no faith in your king?!" I huffed holding out my sword "Just watch this…"

As the horse reared its head, I dashed around it running up the side of its body to stab it in the neck.

"...! It's as hard as steel! I can't stab it in…!" I grunted trying to pierce the skin of the horse. Snorting, it abruptly bucked sending me flying.

 _My king!_

 _ **My king!**_

"STUPID IDIOT!"

Not having enough time to deflect the impact, I closed my eyes waiting to have the air knocked out of me the moment I landed on the cold hard floor – except that moment never came; instead I felt a gentle pair of hands on my back simultaneously bracing me and acting as a cushion.

"Hahahaha~! That was kind of stupid of you mister, but I'll give you points for bravery." Opening my eyes, I looked up and saw a young red-haired girl, lips curled into a smile. Still smiling, she leapt up to the horse and grabbed its head, crushing it between her hands with a sickening crunch.

… _Red eyes… Red hair… Monster strength_ _…_ _No doubt about it…_ I nodded affirmatively to myself. _She's a Fanalis just like Masrur!_

"KOUEI!" the girl barely had time to turn around before Judal jumped on her, practically sobbing with relief.

"Hey Judal! Looks like you made it out after all!"

"Yeah! It's all thanks to you waking me up when you did... But how'd _you_ get out?" pulling his head back slightly, Judal gave a confused frown "I saw you were getting swarmed like crazy…"

"Hahahaha~! About that… I didn't expect to get out either! But... Funny story…" the girl – Kouei – scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

 _~Flashback to after Judal left Kouei to fend for herself~_

 **Kouei's POV**

"I hope Judal at the very least got away…" I murmured closing my eyes. _Is this what dying feels like…? It feels warm… right near my chest…_ I moved one of my bloodied hands towards the necklace Mei had given me; _I'll at least try to spend the last moments of my life clinging onto it…_ Except that when I touched it, it was extremely hot to the touch "?!"

Eyes snapping wide open, I stared at the glowing red gem in shock – flames seemed to dance within it and it looked like an ember straight out of a fireplace.

"What the-?" was all I managed to get out before flames sprang from the ruby pendant, instantly incinerating all of the gremlins around me at a touch. Now that there were residual flames lighting up the place, I could clearly see how many gremlins there were; definitely more than I could handle alone. Gulping, I didn't notice the three figures that manifested around me until one of them addressed me making me jump.

"I am Astaroth, the Djinn of Terror and Meditation" a giant well-built blue man with snake-like hair and a third eye on his forehead looked down at me a hint of a smile around his lips "Or rather… I should say that I am a _part_ of Astaroth, magically sealed within that necklace for your protection."

"And I am Agares, the Djinn of Fortitude and Creation." A blue fox as big as Astaroth stood beside him with his arms – uh, _ **paws**_ – crossed grinning.

"Likewise, Phenex, the Djinn of Kindness and Meditation; we are Prince Kouen's Djinn." A large blue woman with tons of jewelry and a slightly gloomy aura about her smiled at me sorrowfully.

"Hi, nice to meet you…?" I gave a close-eyed grin to mask my confusion "Thanks for coming out to save my butt back there, but uhhh… Why exactly are you guys here again...?"

"My… it seems he didn't tell you." Phenex gave a kind smile "Prince Koumei bought that necklace for you a while back, no? At the time, he wanted to put a few spells of protection on it when he gave it to you should you ever get into trouble, but the magicians found a method to bind fragments of a Djinn's magoi into a metal object to act as a temporary metal vessel."

"Normally Djinns can't come to Earth with being summoned by a Magi as the sole exception, but the magical researchers of a certain organization operating within your empire found a way to store a Magi's magoi... and they recently developed a way to use that to temporarily bind a fragment of a Djinn to a metal object." Agares grinned.

"Unfortunately, it's a one-time thing and we disappear after running out of magoi" Astaroth gave a sheepish grin rubbing the back of his neck as he gestured at the flaming carnage around us "My time's nearly up already, but Phenex can heal you and Agares can use his Earth magic to dig you a shortcut to the front treasure room; but after that, you're on your own because even we don't have the power to breach the treasure room of another Djinn's dungeon uninvited."

"I see…" nodding, I grinned up at them appreciatively "If you could do that, that'd be pretty handy! So... could you?"

"Of course!" I watched, sweatdropping slightly as Agares punched a hole into the ground supposedly digging his way to the front of the treasure room. At the same time, Phenex raised her arms and I felt all of my wounds close and fade away.

"Good luck Kouei… Be safe." Phenex whispered as she and her two fellow Djinn dissipated. Staring in shock, I watched as they disappeared, feeling the necklace Mei had given me all those years ago crack and crumble away to dust in my fingers much to my dismay.

"I really liked that necklace…" I sighed unhappily "Still… I would have died without it; and in the end, it was Mei looking out for me that saved me…" Smiling at the thought of my endearingly paranoid and protective older brother, I walked over to the tunnel that Agares had dug and jumped in.

 _~End of Flash back~_

 **Kouei's POV**

"…And that's what happened…" I concluded ruefully, hands reaching up to grab at the empty space where my necklace used to hang "It's all thanks to Mei that I managed to survive that… He's an awesome older brother isn't he…?"

"You bet! I always thought he was a bit of a wimp, but I guess he's actually not all that bad…" Judal looked me over appraisingly before blushing and draping the robes I'd given him earlier back around me looking away as he did "…Judal…?"

Still not looking at me, he made a clumsy attempt to tie the sash "…Phenex might have healed your wounds, but what she _didn't_ heal was… your clothes…" he mumbled out the last bit, face going as red as his eyes.

 _Oh._

Face going as Judal's, I swatted his hands away and tied the sash myself, covering the shredded cloth that was once my robes "Thanks Judal… So who's this guy anyway?" I asked gesturing at the purple-haired man I just saved as I reached for the orbs on the pedestals.

 **Sinbad's POV**

My eyes sparkled, reflecting my interest as I took in her appearance. She had a pleasantly youthful face and her vivid red eyes held a captivatingly unassuming curiosity – I'd be lying if I said I wasn't charmed. I longed to run my fingers through her red hair just to see if it was as soft as it looked, and best of all, I'd just seen a display of her strength which I could honestly say could be on par with my generals given a few more years – maybe 5?

Grinning, I pushed a protesting Judal aside, ignoring his complaints as I stepped forward to introduce myself _…Ja'far would probably shoot me if I told a stranger my real identity while we are in Kou territory, so I should use an alias…_ "Hello, you must be Kouei… call me Sin!" I gave her one of my lady killing smiles, but to my shock and disappointment, she didn't immediately swoon like all the other girls I used it on.

 **Kouei's POV**

"Hello Sin, nice to meet you! And well… I'm guessing it was Judal who told you, but yes, my name is Kouei." I smiled back looking him over. An easy grin on his face, long purple hair tied back into a ponytail and white robes with an impressive array of jewelry that could make even Kougyoku jealous – I guess his face is what you could call attractive as well. But at that moment, something crossed my mind "Oh! Sin! How did you get in here? Judal rose this dungeon and well… You realize you can't get back out unless someone conquers this dungeon, right?"

"Oh I know that very well…" his golden eyes glazed over temporarily with a hint of nostalgia "...This isn't my first dungeon, but unfortunately, I can't say much more than that…"

"?" He seems a bit mysterious and I was definitely curious, but after waiting for a few moments, he didn't say anything else and I didn't want to pry, so I kept my questions to myself as I carried the orbs to the giant door.

"Open sesame~" I grinned slotting the two orbs into the grooves on the door.

Pushing the doors open – they were surprisingly light despite their size – I entered the treasure room, the pitter patter of bare feet and the soft tread of sandals telling me that Sin and Judal were not too far behind. I knew it was called a "treasure room" for a reason, but still, my mouth fell open at the sight of all the riches in the room; everything was made of either gold or silver and many of the objects were inlaid with colorful gems.

"...I…Wow…" I gazed around the room somewhat dumbstruck by the sheer amount of treasure, and even the normally mouthy Judal seemed at a loss for words. Remembering why I was here, I ventured further into the room cautiously "Hey Judal… Where's the Djinn thingy?"

To my shock, it was Sin who answered, his breath on my neck telling me he was right behind me "Go further in; it should be on a single pedestal with an eight-pointed star symbol on it." Somewhat shaken by his close proximity, I stumbled, almost tripping to get to the aforementioned pedestal and away from Sin – he hasn't really done anything yet, _but something about him seemed off… Enigmatic… Mysterious even… Almost as if he was hiding something… Something big…_

 _ **But** , I didn't even know him that well, so it was probably just a stranger-danger feeling... right?_ Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I spotted a lamp with an eight-pointed star on it "I think I found it!" I called over my shoulder, but I couldn't see the other two through the mounds of treasure.

"Good! Now rub the symbol and wait for the Djinn to come out!" Sin's voice called out somewhere from behind a stack of coins.

"Rub the symbol for a Djinn to come out…?" 2 hours ago, I might've laughed him off, called him crazy then recommend him to get a check-up with my personal physician Mistress Lea, but after seeing Phenex, Astaroth and Agares appear out of nowhere, I can't really say that Djinns appearing out of nowhere really surprises me anymore.

Rubbing my fingers over the eight-pointed star like Sin instructed, I stepped back when blue smoke started billowing out of it. When the smoke cleared, a handsome well-built man with unkempt yet neatly groomed auburn hair and lively green eyes appeared. His brown silk robes shimmered in the light as he leaned down smiling kindly at me "Hello, I am Haagenti of the 48th Dungeon, Djinn of Knowledge and Wisdom... Now…" eyes flickering between Judal, Sin and myself, his bright eyes twinkled "Who shall be king?"

"I'd like to be king!"

"?!" To my surprise and judging from the expression on his face, Judal's too, Sin had raised his hand giving a close-eyed smile. _What's he thinking…?!_

"...Only you? Then-"

"NOT SO FAST! I raised this dungeon for Kouei! KOUEI, SAY THAT YOU WANT TO BE KING GODAMMIT!"

Feeling Judal shove me in the back, I stumbled slightly before standing up straight to gaze into Haagenti's eyes evenly "Haagenti… I'd like to be king too…"

Nodding understandingly, the Djinn rose back up to his full height looking to Sin first "You there, young man, I sense you have great power and the vouches of several of my brethren… What would you do if you had my power?" _…? "Brethren"? What's that meant to mean...?_ But before I could ponder it out, Sin was already giving his answer.

Grinning, Sin puffed out his chest and replied without missing a beat "With your power, I'd save this world!" Nodding in consideration, Haagenti turned to me next, the trace of a smile lingering at his mouth "And you little one? What would you do with my power…?"

Straightening myself to my full height and pushing my shoulders back, I looked into his eyes speaking up at his encouraging smile "If I had your power, I would change this world."

"…!" A faint look of shock flickered over Haagenti's eyes as he brought his hand up to his chin "…Change the world…? But you are still quite young…"

"Mhm! I hear about the world from my older brother Mei all the time and how there are wars happening everywhere…" I paused, gaze not leaving Haagenti's to make sure I still had his full attention "If the world is constantly at war with itself, simply stopping the wars by riding to battle is not enough…" this time when I paused, Haagenti gestured with his hand, encouraging… no, _urging_ me to go on "If the world was unified under one ruler, there would be no need to stop wars because there would be no wars to begin with – that's what my other older brother En told me." Smiling up at the Djinn, I finished my impromptu speech "Yep~ I wouldn't just save the world; I'd change it saving it in the process."

Nodding his head, a smile slowly spread over Haagenti's face as he looked between Sin and me deliberating. Finally coming to a decision, his smile turned into a grin as he clapped his hands "It was a tough decision as both of you are extremely worthy candidates of the highest caliber, but at the end of the day, I can only choose one master... So my king will be… you!"

 _~End of Chapter 2 (Cliffhanger)~_

 **Author's Note:**

Don't kill me plz, I'm just super tired; 8 hours in front of a computer only eating 2 cups of instant noodles for lunch can do that to someone even if it's the limited edition extra-spicy kind. ;w;

Tell you what; if this story gets a lot of attention and love, I'll update often even if it means I have to live off instant noodles xDDD

Thanks to all my readers so far! You guys are my inspiration and my muse!

Ciao! :3

P.S. Tbh, this story got more attention than I thought it would… OTL


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

 _I DO NOT OWN MAGI NO MATTER HOW MUCH I BEG SANTA DURING CHRISTMAS! ALSO THANKS A TON TO ALL OF YOU WHO FAVORITED, FOLLOWED AND REVIEWED, BUT A SUPER-SPECIAL THANKS TO Jaxrond WHO HAS KINDLY AGREED TO BETA-READ FOR ME AND I AM REALLY REALLY GRATEFUL! :D_

 _In the previous chapter, while Kouei and Judal were in the dungeon, a wayward (And paperwork-dodging) Sinbad unwittingly stumbled across the entrance of said dungeon and eagerly entered. Against all odds, all 3 made it to the treasure room and awakened the Djinn Haagenti. After asking their reasons for wanting to be king then hearing them both out, Haagenti chose his king, but was it Kouei or Sinbad?_

 **Start of actual chapter:**

 **Kouen's POV**

Right after our talk that night, Kouei disappeared from the palace without a trace; I asked around, but no one – not even the gossipy maids – had a clue where she might have gone. Maybe it's a coincidence, or maybe he went with her, but that same night, the Magi Judal also disappeared from the palace. I sent out search parties and had palace mages try to find them with magic, but so far we've had no luck.

The palace mages assured me that Judal, at least, was still alive as they could not sense the birth of a new Magi to take his place, but when they tried to trace Kouei's magoi, they looked all over the Empire and even into other empires much to Scheherazade's chagrin when they searched the Leim Empire, but all they managed to confirm was that Kouei's magoi was no longer on this continent.

Father was concerned, Hakuryuu was stunned, Hakuei was worried, Kouha was upset and Kougyoku was heartbroken, but Koumei was absolutely shattered, almost mindless with grief. At every meal, I would catch him gazing at Kouei's empty seat, a look of devastated pain on his face. Often, he would spend the whole meal, just staring and forgetting to eat anything so he'd lost a lot of weight and looked a lot thinner these days – and judging from the dark circles under his eyes and the way his eyes would fill with tears every time we walked past Kouei's quarters, I don't think weight is the only thing he's lost either.

 _And even now…_ I frowned at the report I'd just received from him; it was riddled with careless errors which was strange, considering Koumei's precise personality… but that wasn't the worst of it. Most hauntingly of all, the words were barely legible; the ink ran together as a result of the many tearstains covering the page. I frowned before sighing and setting the report down. _Well I can't really blame him…_ I thought walking down the hallways _…Especially not after what I told him…_

 **Koumei's POV**

I sat at my desk, wordlessly going through my many piles of paperwork, desperately trying to ignore the hollow and empty feeling that was threatening to overtake my body. _If what Kouen said was true…_ I felt my vision blur as tears filled my eyes _…If Astaroth, Agares and Phenex have really had the magoi I sealed into Kouei's necklace returned to them… that means she was in a life and death situation and I don't even know where she is…! I haven't even been able to fall asleep at night because every time I did, I had the same nightmare…_

 _~Koumei's nightmare~_

"Hey Mei! Look! That pigeon has a chick!" Kouei giggled pointing and swinging her legs as she sat on my lap. Following her finger, I spotted the young bird and smiled throwing a small piece of bread to the baby's mother. "So it has…" pausing to ruffle her hair, I gave her a gentle smile "I never got to say thank you for saving me from an angry Big brother En so… Thank you Kouei."

Snuggling back into my chest she grinned "It's no problem at all Mei! Big Brother En is a meanie for overworking you and I know you get real tired coz you sleep real late and you fall asleep during the day… And if that happens, who would take me out to feed pigeons?" Pausing, she shook my head trying to neaten her hair "…And you're getting breadcrumbs in my hair." Hearing that, I began to chuckle, watching her attempts to brush said crumbs out of her hair.

Glancing over at the sun, I frowned at its position. _It's getting late… Our guest should be arriving soon and En never likes it when we're late…_

Reaching down, I picked Kouei up before standing up and settling her onto my back "Come on Kouei… If we don't start going home now, we won't be in time for the meeting with the foreign king and Big Brother En will throw a fit."

"…"

"Kouei…?" I glanced back, slightly surprised from her lack of response. _Normally she asks if we can come again next time… Had she fallen asleep…?_ But to my surprise, she slid down from my back, giving me a wistful smile as she backed away from me "…Kouei…?" I stepped forward in concern "…What's wrong…?"

Meeting my concerned gaze with her own regretful one, she shook her head sadly "…I'm sorry Mei… I can't come with you…"

"Kouei…What are you saying…?" I almost tripped as I stumbled towards her "Come on… Let's go home before it gets dark, okay?" I paused, noticing something off about her for the first time "…Kouei…What happened to your necklace…?"

"…" reaching up to grasp at the empty space at her neck, her eyes filled with melancholy "…I got ambushed by a bunch of people while I was wandering the outskirts of the Empire…" to my shock, a trail of blood started leaking out of her mouth "You're injured!" I hurried forward to take her to the infirmary, but my hands went right through her… _almost as if she weren't even there at all…?!_ "What…?"

She watched my futile attempts to touch her with a mournful look on her face "I'm glad that I at least got to see you one last time Mei…" To my horror, I watched as her form became distorted and started fading.

"Kouei! Stop! What's going on?!" I felt my voice rise and crack in my panic "You can't just leave!"

Managing to twitch the corners of her lips upward, she gave me a sad smile "It's alright Mei…" She pointed as the chick that she'd spotted earlier flew away from its mother "After all… everyone has to leave the nest someday…"

"KOUEI!" I reached out to grab her, but she passed right through my fingers. Falling to my knees, I watched helplessly as she faded away completely.

 _Sorry for all the grief I ever gave you… and thanks for everything, Mei…_

 _~End of Koumei's nightmare~_

Wet splotches appeared all over the document I was currently working on as tears slid down my face and dripped from the end of my nose to the parchment causing the ink to run together. Quickly, I packed up the rest of the scrolls before I could potentially damage them too. _Maybe I'll take the rest of the day off… but where should I go…? To feed the pigeons?_

 _No._ I shook my head firmly; dismissing the thought even before it had been fully formed _…I don't think I could ever go to that place without being reminded of…_ Sighing, I leaned back into my chair, letting the tears fall and carve salty tracks onto my face.

… _Where have you gone Kouei…?_

 _~Back in the dungeon with Kouei, Judal, Sinbad and Haagenti~_

 **Kouei's POV**

I blinked up at Haagenti's grinning face, trying to ignore the giant finger in my face "You! You shall be my king!" _What…?_ Before I could recover from the shock of nearly being poked to death by the enormous Djinn and process what that meant, Judal had pounced on me, punching me in the shoulder and congratulating me "Alright! WAY TO GO KOUEI! Haagenti chose you so now you're a dungeon capturer!"

"Yes… Kouei, you are now my king, call on me should you ever be in need me…Hmm?" A puzzled frown appeared on Haagenti's face so suddenly that it startled me "…My king…Do you not have any metal object on you at all?"

"?" Feeling a frown spread over my own face, I instinctively reached up "I do! It's right…here?" looking down in confusion as my fingers closed over the empty space where my necklace used to hang, my heart sank "…Ok… right now I don't, but I _did_ have a necklace before it got destroyed…" Recalling the events that had led to the destruction of my most prized possession, my shoulders slumped forward dejectedly.

"That's quite okay my king." Gesturing around him, Haagenti smiled down at me gently "Many of these treasures are made of metal… Find one that suits you and I'll make it into our metal vessel."

"Okay…" sifting determinedly through the nearest pile of jewelry and trinkets, intent on finding a ruby necklace like the one Mei had given me, my heart stood still when a flash of pinkish red caught my eye. Pausing to sift through the pile again, this time I managed to grab hold of the trinket responsible for the said flash of color, bringing a beautiful bracelet out of the pile _…It's the exact same shade of pinkish red as Mei's eyes…_ I thought as I turned it over in my hands admiringly – so admiringly in fact, that I failed to notice the presence behind me.

"That's a beautiful bracelet, you've got good taste Kouei."

"!" I nearly jumped out of my skin, whipping around to face a smiling purple-haired man "Oh, it's just Sin…" grinning at the man, I gave him a close-eyed smile "Don't sneak up on me, I scare easily you know?" _I couldn't hear him sneaking up on me at all! Even though I'm a Fanalis and my ears are better than most…_ Mentally shaking my head, I brushed off that thought. _Nah… I was probably just concentrating too hard on admiring this bracelet… Still, I wonder what he wants…_

Fortunately, he didn't make me wait long. Crossing his arms over his chest, his golden eyes sparkled as he returned my smile "Hahahah! Don't worry, when people sneak up on me, I scare quite easily too! But that aside…" he gestured down at the bracelet in my hands "I came over to see if you needed any help putting that on."

"Huh? Oh… Could you? That would be real helpful, Sin!" Grinning, I held out the bracelet and watched as he clasped it around my wrist. Shaking it around, I nodded with approval "Perfect fit"

"Is that the metal vessel you've chosen?" Haagenti smiled, waiting for my nod before he beckoned for me to come closer "Then I shall seal myself inside of it… Do not hesitate to ask for my help if you find yourself in trouble… My king." Still smiling, he dissolved into blue smoke as a glowing eight-pointed star appeared in the gem of my new bracelet. Still admiring said bracelet, I didn't notice Judal's voice, gradually increasing in volume until he walked right up to me and slapped the back of my head.

"OI! MIDGET! I've been calling you for the past 10 seconds!" I blinked slowly, rubbing my head as the braided Magi seethed, red eyes flickering with impatience "Do you wanna stay here forever or what?! LET'S GO!" Grabbing me by the wrist, he dragged me over to where Sin was waiting, standing on a circle of light. Reaching and entering said circle, I blinked as my body was bathed in light, the brightness blinding me.

When the light had settled, the first thing I noticed was that we were in a large trench along with quite a few large bags. The metallic jangle from a tentative poke of Judal's staff told me that the bags were filled with treasure. Remembering the reason why I entered the dungeon in the first place, I grinned appreciatively _…I reckon if I give this all to Mei, funding won't be a problem for a while…_ I was brought out of my happy thoughts by a loud groan from Judal.

"Kouei! How the hell are we going to get out of this hellhole?! With all this treasure too!"

"Huh? I guess I could carry you two up first, then go back up and bring the bags up one at a time…?" But even to myself, I didn't sound too sure _…There's got to be at least 30 bags here… That's strenuous work even for a Fanalis…_ Before I could think any further, I heard a familiar voice in my head.

 _My king… You are no longer in my dungeon and you are no longer unable to use magoi… Tell the Magi over there that._

… _Haagenti…?_ I guessed cautiously, _Is that you?_

I was rewarded by a faint chuckle. _Correct, my king… I forgot to tell you, but Djinn are able to communicate telepathically with their chosen king… which is what we are currently doing._

 _I see…_ I grinned slightly, turning over to Judal. But just as I was opening my mouth, two men, one silver-haired and the other red-haired, peered over the edge of the trench glaring at Sin as he sweated. Glancing between them, I tilted my head slightly in confusion. _Hunh… Do they know each other…?_ Before I could ponder this any further, the silver-haired man started talking, scolding Sin.

"SINBAD! There you are! I told you that you had paperwork and next moment, I take my eyes of you and you've disappeared?! YOU DARE CALL YOURSELF A KING?!"

 _What…?_ I whipped around to glare sharply at Sin _…Or should I say… King Sinbad of Sindria; otherwise known as Sinbad, the lady killer of the seven seas! Mei told me about him once…_

 _~Flash back~_

"Hey Mei, what're you looking at?" I asked standing on tiptoes trying to peer at what my pink-eyed brother was up to "Are you planning more strategies again?"

Setting down his pen, he sighed pushing his chair back as he stretched his stiff arms over his head. Giving a gentle smile as he sipped at the tea that I'd brought him, he picked me up and settled me on his lap so I could see what he was scribbling on "Kouei… Military strategies are important during wars, but politics is also important to stop wars before they start."

"Ooh…" studying the scroll curiously, I squinted "Sinbad…? What's that?"

"Sinbad is the name of a man; the king of an island country called Sindria, a dungeon capturer with seven Djinn and the founder of the Seven Seas Alliance…" the smile slid off of Mei's face, quickly replaced by a slight frown "Sinbad may be a strong man and the owner of seven metal vessels, but he is still human and all humans have faults. His reputation with beautiful young women is infamous and his love for alcohol is legendary…" turning me around on his lap so that I could see his worried gaze, he ran a protective hand through my hair "…In short: Stay away from him, Kouei… I worry for you."

"Right…" I leaned back into his chest smiling in content "Well, Mei is right most of the time…" Opening one eye to peer back at him, I grinned "So what does he look like? I won't be able to avoid him unless I know who he is."

Letting a smile spread back over his face, Mei resumed petting me on the head "Well, I only saw him for a bit, but from what I could see…"

 _~Flash back End~_

 _Long purple hair. Gold eyes. About the same height as En. White robes. Enough jewelry to make even Kougyoku cry out of jealousy. "Sin"…_ _**How could I have been so stupid?!**_ Still glaring at Sinbad, I stepped away from him, shifting into a fighting stance, ready to beat up the women/alcohol-loving king that just invaded my Empire.

"…Kouei…?" Sinbad had turned around, noticing the hostile expression on my face as he stepped forward in concern "What's wrong-"

"Sin… Did you say "Kouei"?!" The silver-haired man turned to Sinbad with a look of incredulous shock mixed with outrage "SINBAD! If you had done your own paperwork like I'd asked you instead of pushing it off onto me… YOU WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT THAT GIRL IS THE 9th IMPERIAL PRINCESS OF THE KOU EMPIRE!"

"WHAT?!" whipping over to stare at me with a near unhinged jaw, Sinbad glanced between me and the silver-haired man shaking his head disbelievingly "Ja'far… You can't be serious… I just watched this girl crush the head of this dragon between her hands like it was nothing; are you sure that's something a princess would do? There could be another Kouei you know?"

"It goes against their restrictive customs on women… but in the Kou Empire, members of the Royal family are seen as being deities of sorts; it would be an act of never heard of before blasphemy for any resident of the Kou Empire, be they commoners or nobles, to name their child after a princess so I am certain that she is–SIN! LOOK OUT!"

 _Too late._ I thought as I dashed towards Sinbad, fist raised. _By the time you get down here, I'll already have smashed his skull in and killed him._ Just as my fist was about to make contact with a startled Sinbad's face, my arm was painfully knocked off-course by an unknown force "!" backing up a few steps, I looked up to see the red-haired man from before gazing at me impassively "You're a Fanalis…"

"And so are you…" I checked myself for injuries, but the only part of me that seemed hurt was my arm which was already starting to bruise. _Damn… He's strong…_

"MIDGET!"

"!" I looked up just as Judal zoomed past on his magical carpet, dragging me on behind him as he went. Glancing over at me as we flew out of the trench, he gave me a confused look "Hey midget… What's wrong? You looked like you were gonna kill him." Gritting my teeth, I met his gaze as evenly as I could while seething " _ **I was…**_ "

Seeing his confused look, I gave in to his silent demand for answers "He… "Sin"… He's actually King Sinbad of Sindria; Mei told me that he has a bad reputation with women and alcohol and well… even if he didn't, why's he in our territory?" Eyes widening in realization, Judal turned to glare at Sinbad as well "…AND HE ALMOST STOLE AWAY THE DUNGEON I RAISED FOR YOU!"

"Well… Yeah…" I have to admit, I was slightly stunned by Judal's strong reaction to having Sinbad conquer a dungeon he intended for someone else "That's it… I'M TAKING HIM DOWN!" Twirling his staff determinedly as we landed, he looked on emotionlessly as the Fanalis man carried Sinbad out of the trench "Reckon you got Redhead and Silverhair?"

"That works for me; I don't like hitting girls." Sinbad called from over the Fanalis man's shoulder.

"Well… I wanted to fight Sinbad…" Glaring at Sinbad as he was set down before glancing between the two enemies that Judal assigned to me, I cracked my knuckles "…But if you save me a punch when you're done, I guess I'll settle for that."

"Deal." With that, Judal launched several icicles towards Sinbad just as I hurtled towards the silver-haired man – Ja'far, I think Sinbad called him – not particularly eager to have to deal with the Fanalis man at the moment. _The Fanalis man is pretty muscular and it takes a lot of strength to deflect one of my blows if I do say so myself… But this guy looks like an advisor…_ Still running towards him as fast as I could, I pulled a fist back to punch him square in the jaw _…I should take him out first…!_ But even as I let my fist fly forward, I wondered if I had made a blunder in my judgement as his eyes glinted dangerously "Big mistake."

"!" I watched, frozen in shock as a wire snaked around my wrist effectively stopping it in its tracks "…Huh…?"

"Nowadays I'm an advisor, but I used to be a highly trained assassin." He observed my dumbfounded expression emotionlessly "For the sake of peace between our countries, I do not wish to attack a princess-"

"-But what were you doing in our territory?" I cut across him, catching the flicker of surprise that crossed his face. Looking away, he frowned slightly "…That I cannot answer…"

"Nothing at all can persuade you to give me an answer…?"

"No. And nothing at all can convince you to back down…?"

"No."

"…Then so be it." Using his wire to pull me close before kicking me away, I managed to block most of the impact from his kick, but the wire around my wrist still prevented me from flying too far.

"KOUEI!" I glanced over at Judal just as he sent an icicle towards me, piercing through and snapping the wire that tied me to Ja'far. Jabbing an accusing finger at me, he yelled "DON'T YOU DARE LOSE!"

Clenching and unclenching my hand, flexing my arm to make sure that it still worked, I grinned back at Judal "Thanks and right back at you!"

Turning back to Ja'far, now wary of his wires, I kept my distance, circling him, waiting for the minute he dropped his guard… "THALG AL-SALOS!" Distracted by the sound of Judal's spell, Ja'far's eyes glanced over to check on his king before sliding back to me. The whole process probably took less than a second, but that was enough; _Bad mistake._

Seizing the opening, I pounced, rushing Ja'far, tackling him and pinning him down. Raising my fist, I got ready to punch his skull in, but a sudden shock made me let go and retreat. _Ouch…_ I gingerly looked at my burnt hands _…What was that?!_ Glancing up, I saw residual sparks coming from Ja'far's wires _…Electricity…?_ I didn't notice anyone behind me until an unfamiliar voice spoke up.

"…You're wide open…"

"!" Leaping away, I barely managed to dodge a hit from the Fanalis man, gulping slightly as I watched a crater appear under his fist _…Yeah… definitely don't want to be on the receiving end of that…_ Glancing between Ja'far and the Fanalis, I mentally groaned _…Two adult men, a trained assassin and a Fanalis against a 10 year old princess…_ I shifted slightly trying to keep them both within my line of vision _…Something is very wrong about this image right here…_

 _My king, if I may give a word of advice?_

… _Go for it…_

 _If you take out the silver-haired man first, you might stand a chance against the red-haired man… However, I don't think it's wise for you to fight the red-haired man first because with those wires of his, the silver-haired man's range is much larger than yours so he can attack you even while you're fighting the red-haired man… but if you target the silver-haired man, from what I've observed, the red-haired man can't hit you unless he comes close, so you won't have to worry about him until you have to dodge him; and I don't think he'll risk pulling off any heavy hits while the silver-haired man is near you or he risks friendly fire._

… _Thanks for the tips Haagenti, but how do I fight Ja'far – that's the silver-haired man – if I can't even touch him without getting burned by his wires?_

 _It's easy my king… you just have to find a way to fight without having to touch him directly…_

 _You're kidding right?! How do I hit him if I don't touch him-?!_ Glancing at the two again, I felt a smile spread across my face _…If I can pull it off, that could work…_

… _My king, I do not know of your plan, but please be careful._

 _I will, thanks for the tips again Haagenti._ Grinning, thinking of Haagenti's possible reactions, I dashed towards the Fanalis.

 _MY KING! What are you doing?! This is what I specifically warned you NOT to do! MY KING!_

Ignoring my Djinn's state of borderline panic, I ducked the punch that the Fanalis threw before tackling him. Seizing my target and ripping it away from him, I grinned and retreated again once it was safely in my hands.

"You…" the Fanalis stared, mouth hanging slightly open as I unsheathed the sword I stole from him. Seemingly regaining his composure, he got to his feet as I dashed towards Ja'far, weapon in hand. Easily catching up and grabbing me by the arm as I made a swing, he shook his head slightly "…You are strong, but strength alone is not everything; you also need skill…" pausing to shift his gaze over me, he continued, tightening his grip painfully as I watched in slight fear, feeling my bones creak in his hand "Your stance, your grip and even your form…" staring into my eyes, red clashing with red, he tightened his grip again until a few sickening cracks came from my arm.

"AHHHHH!" Feeling him let go as I stumble away from him, I fell, nursing my injured arm.

"KOUEI!" glancing weakly over to Judal, I watched him get chased by his own icicles _…No… they weren't his icicles…_ I looked over to Sinbad who had equipped a Djinn that made him look like a snow-white nine-tailed fox _…Must be his…_ Looking up to see the Fanalis standing over me, I looked into his impassive gaze unwaveringly – If I lose, at least it's going to be with dignity "…You are probably better off fighting bare-handed."

"…!" I gritted my teeth. _I fought against two intruders from Sindria and lost… And from the looks of it, Judal is probably going to lose too… Sinbad's Djinn equip is too strong…_ I paused as a lightbulb lit up in my head. _That's it! Djinn equip! Why didn't I think of it before?! Erm… What was it Big Brother En and Mei always had to say…?_

… _My King?!_

 _Oh yeah! I remember!_

Painfully forcing myself to sit up, I held my bracelet in front of me grinning " _ **Dwell in my body: Haagenti!**_ "Ja'far's eyes widened as the eight-pointed star on my bracelet began to glow, but the Fanalis just stared, looking unconcerned.

"!" the gem's glow soon faded as I collapsed again, absolutely exhausted _…What was that?!_

"…Your face is telling me you don't understand…" I glanced up at the Fanalis as he spoke "…While we Fanalis have a lot of raw strength, our magoi pools are extremely low, making us extremely bad at doing things that cost a lot of it; things such as magic or using metal vessels." Glancing over to Sinbad and Judal's fight, as I panted for breath, he looked back at me "…And looks like Sinbad's just about won his fight too…"

I watched in horror as Sinbad pummeled Judal over the head with a giant block of ice, literally knocking him out of the sky "JUDAL!" I tried to crawl over to him with my good hand "Judal! Are you okay?!"

Coughing up a bit of blood, he still managed to give me a scowl "Do I… fucking… look okay?!" he asked between ragged breaths "Mind you… watch out… this guy's strong…" I laughed slightly in relief. _If he's able to joke around like that, he'll be okay right…?_ I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of footsteps behind me. Whipping around, I came face-to-face with a crouching Sinbad's golden eyes.

"!" I shuffled away from him as much as my injured state would allow while still keeping myself between him and Judal "What do you want?!" I growled.

Giving a small smile as he rested his face on his knuckles, he watched me glare at him "Nothing much… I just want to leave this Empire without conflict… Do you think you could tell your brothers to call off the border control army?" Gritting my teeth at his audacity, I spat back at him "Like hell!"

"Hmmm~ then we might have a bit of a problem…" Reaching his hand towards me as I held up the sword I stole in defense, he smiled as I glared at him "I haven't kept a girl hostage since I left Partevia when I was 14, but-"

"But what?" a familiar voice called out before I saw the big dipper constellation appear around me and felt the ground beneath me give way, falling through a hole and landing with a soft thud into someone's arms. The familiar scent of parchment, birdfeed and smoked squid filled my nostrils, lulling me to sleep with the sense of safety I had grown accustomed to associating with it; I hadn't even realized how sleepy I actually was until I was in the presence of a something that I knew to be unquestionably safe. Looking up, I was met with the sight of long red hair tied into a ponytail flying in the breeze before my lips moved to form one word… _one name_ … "Mei…" I managed to breathe out, a small smile curling at my lips.

My last sensation before I blacked out was the sound of someone calling my name.

…

…

…

I blinked my eyes slowly, feeling my vision clear until what used to be a blur was now recognizable as the ceiling of the palace infirmary… _Wait, the infirmary?!_ Feeling the memories flow back into my mind, I tried to sit up, yelping when I accidentally put weight onto my injured hand.

"I wouldn't put too much weight on that hand if I were you Kouei; the doctor said it was broken in 3 different places." A voice called out.

"Wha? Who's that-?!" the familiar voice chuckled, watching me flail around for a bit before brisk footsteps made their way to the side of my bed and firm hands placed themselves on my back and my chest, helping me to sit up. Blinking as I stared into Kouen's vivid red eyes, I tried to sit up straighter in the presence of my eldest brother, but a weight on my legs prevented me from moving "…?"

Shifting my gaze down, I saw a sleeping Mei sprawled out across my legs, making a pillow out of my knees; he looked thin – extremely thin – even more so than normal. Worry filled my eyes as I wordlessly pulled his hair out of its normal ponytail to stroke it with my fingers. _Greasy. He hasn't been taking care of himself… But I just washed it yesterday! How could something like_ _ **this**_ _happen in a day?! Unless…_

Turning over to Kouen who's settled himself into a guest chair, I sweated slightly "…Big Brother En… How long was I out…?" Seeing the grim look on his face, I braced myself.

"You were out for three days-"

"Three days?!" I yelped staring at my eldest brother in horror.

"-but you were gone for nearly 3 weeks so I don't see why that amount of time should alarm you." He finished staring at me with an irritated _… No…_ _ **worried**_ look in his eyes "…Everyone was really worried about you, but Koumei… When Astaroth, Agares and Phenex told me that their magoi had been returned to them… When the palace mages told Koumei that you were most likely dead, I think a part of him died with you."

"T-THREE WEE-" I nearly screeched, but Kouen covered my mouth with his hand gesturing down at the sleeping Mei before bringing his finger up in a _shush_ gesture "Shhh… Koumei hasn't been getting much sleep since you disappeared… I think this is the first time he's fallen asleep since." Staring into my eyes intently, he slowly took his hand away from my mouth "You probably don't know this, but some dungeons warp time; a day inside could become a month outside or maybe even two…"

"…3 weeks… Have I really been gone that long…?" Seeing En's grim nod, I sighed, looking down at my exhausted and currently unconscious older brother _…He doesn't look like he's had it easy…_ Running my fingers through his hair again, I gave a rueful frown "Poor Mei…"

"Hey! We were _all_ worried! Why does Mei get all the credit?!"

Turning around to face the door, I let a smile grace my lips "Hey there Kouha, Kougyoku, Hakuei, Hakuryuu." I greeted each of my family members as they passed through the doors.

Climbing onto the bed next to me, a certain pink-haired 13 year old brother of mine pouted "I don't get why you like Mei so much anyway; I'd understand if En was your favorite brother, but why Mei?! I think he's kind of ugly…" leaning in closer, his pout deepened "Why don't you make _me_ your favorite brother instead? Aren't I much prettier?"

"You're a boy, why would you want to be pretty?" I stuck my tongue out at Kouha playfully "And besides, Mei isn't ugly, he's cute!"

"…Cute…?" A vein throbbed in my temple as all of my family members – En included – tilted their heads cluelessly "Yeah! Cute! His freckles are cute, his chuckles are cute… Even his hobby of feeding pigeons is cute!" I stood up proudly giving a close-eyed smile.

"…What about his smile? Isn't it kind of dorky?"

I glared at Kouha pointing my finger at him accusingly and jabbing him in the chest to punctuate each of my words "Adorkable! A-D-O-R-K-A-B-L-E! It's cute because it's dorky! Anymore silly questions?" I glared at each of my older siblings in turn, noting in satisfaction when they flinched away "Do you need to hear more or have we established the fact that Mei is cute, not ugly?" I glared at Kouha when I said the last bit until a tired yawn brought me out of my thoughts.

"I guess I don't really need to hear more, but I'd like to…" _That voice…!_ I blinked slowly, glancing down to see the same close-eyed dorky smile that I was just discussing with Kouha on Mei's face. A smile spread over my own face as I launched myself into the arms of my favorite brother "MEI!"

"Kouei..." Mei wrapped his arms around me surprisingly tight for so thin a man, burying his face into my shoulder as his tears dampened my sleeve "Kouei… You're awake and home safe…" lifting his face so I could see his tear-filled pink eyes, he gave me a watery smile "I was so worried…" Giving a sheepish and rueful smile, I hugged him back, snaking my arms around him and letting my head rest on his chest "Sorry Mei…"

"Alright group hug!" I barely registered the sound of Kouha's voice before I felt bodies pressing against me and Mei, joining in on the hug "Welcome back Kouei…" I gave Hakuei a close-eyed grin in response "I'm home everyone!"

"…And by the way, you're going to write a full report on everything you did from start to finish and submit it in to me later-" Seeing the look of alarm spread over my face, En let a rare smile slide over his face before continuing "-is what I'd normally say, but this time I'll let you get away with just an oral report as long as a scribe records it."

"Yeah! I want to hear what happened too!"

"Ah!" I winced as Kouha tugged on my injured arm to get my attention. Giving a disapproving pout, Kougyoku gently pulled Kouha away, scolding him "Kouha! Her arm is hurt!"

"Oh! Sorry Kouei!" making sure to touch me more gingerly this time, Kouha leaned in "So what happened?! Why were you gone 3 weeks?! Spill!"

"Don't worry Kouei; I'll record this" I smiled gratefully at Hakuei as she took out her notepad before turning to an expectant Kouha "Well… After I left En, I went to Judal's room and asked for his help…"

 _~Time skip to after the explanations~_

"…And after he knocked Judal out of the sky, most of what I remember is just falling asleep right afterwards…" I finished before looking around "…Come to think… Where's Judal? Is he alright?!"

"Judal is fine, but he is currently training…" Hakuei smiled over her notepad reassuringly "He wasn't as badly injured or mentally strained as you, so he was fine after a 20 hour long nap."

"And now you're a dungeon capturer…" a slow, wistful smile spread across Hakuryuu's face "Congratulations Kouei…"

"Wha-? Weren't you guys listening at all?! I went into the dungeon to get the treasure, not the Djinn; treasure that I was planning to give to Mei so that he could get better funding for his military strategies!" pausing to glance over at Mei who still hadn't let go of me, hugging me close as I sat on his lap, I gave a puzzled frown "…So what happened to all the treasure anyway? I hope it was all given to Mei, or I might just go diving into another dungeon."

"Don't worry, all of the treasure was put into one of the vaults for the military strategist's treasury… No more dungeon diving for you!" he scolded playfully giving me a squeeze "You scared me half to death, you know Kouei?"

"Yeah, I know…" giving a sheepish smile, I buried my face into Mei's chest "Sorry again Mei… But all I wanted to do was make your job easier coz I noticed you don't get nearly enough funds…"

"I'd rather have not enough funds than have you disappear on me; I nearly cried while you were missing." He smiled gently before patting me on the head affectionately.

"What do you mean "nearly", Mei?" turning to me, Kouha winked, ignoring Mei's pleading expression "He really did cry; cried like a baby when the palace mages and all the search parties couldn't find you."

"H-Hey! That's…!" Mei's feeble protests were cut off by Hakuryuu who spoke up next with a thoughtful look on his face "…Not only that, he cried every time he walked past your quarters…" he recalled, also ignoring Mei's puppy eyes and desperate look.

"U-Um… You guys…?"

"That's not all…" every head whipped around to stare as En gave Mei a merciless smile, resting his head on his knuckles "…He cried during mealtimes and sometimes he forgot to eat completely because he was too busy staring at your empty seat Kouei."

"T-That's…" glancing around at all of our siblings one by one as a slow red flush spread over his cheeks, he met my inquiring gaze last, face burning "That's… all true…" he sighed giving in and smiling sheepishly, face inventing new shades of red.

Face lighting up as I chuckled at his embarrassment, I gave him my biggest grin "That's okay! It's okay to cry… I mean, I'm still sorry that I was the one who made you cry, but I'm happy that you worried enough about me to waste your tears on me…" still grinning, I nuzzled into his chest happily "That's part of the reason why Mei is my favorite brother~ Eheheheh!"

 **Koumei's POV**

Hearing that, I felt my face heat up again as I smiled, cradling Kouei "Alright, so maybe I did cry a little…" seeing the pointed looks from all of my other siblings, I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly "…Okay, maybe a lot, but that's only because I was really worried about you and I wasn't sure where you were… you were gone for nearly 3 weeks…"

Pausing to brush a hand through her long, flowing unbraided hair, I rested my head on hers, trying to ignore the glares (or in Kouha's case, pout) of my brothers – even Hakuryuu who was technically our cousin. Giving a rueful smile at how their faces shifted back to normal the moment Kouei turned around, I sweatdropped slightly _…Is being Kouei's favorite brother really such a coveted position now?!_ I was brought out of my thoughts when Kouei tried to get out of bed.

Reaching out, I grabbed her, taking care to avoid her injured arm and gently pulled her struggling form back into the bed "Kouei! You just woke up; you're not well enough to be walking around yet!" pushing her back down, I pulled the blankets back over her body, tucking her in "If you move around too much, you'll end up injuring yourself again."

 **Kouei's POV**

"But I have to start training; I need to go back to Mistress Lea and ask her for more magoi classes and I need to ask Lord Ourei can implement any swordsmanship classes." I tried to get back up, pushing the blankets off me, but a firm hand rested on my chest, pushing me back down "Kouei, you can train after you've healed an you know that…" En's eyes stared into mine unblinkingly with a hint of confusion "…Why the sudden rush?"

"…"

"…Is it because of what the Fanalis man who was with Sinbad said?"

"…"

"…In case you were thinking as such, it was not your fault that you couldn't defeat him; I've heard from Koumei that he is one of Sindria's eight generals. He is also a pure-blood Fanalis and you are only a half-blood… Not only that, he is a fully grown adult and he wasn't fighting you alone either."

"…Yeah…" I brought my knees up to my chin hugging my legs to my chest "…I knew that, but that doesn't make what he said any less true… my magoi pool is extremely small and my swordsmanship is non-existent… I want… no, I _need_ to get stronger." Feeling a firm but gentle hand rest on my shoulder, I glanced up to see En with a conflicted look on his face "…Big Brother En…?"

"Go on, my brother and my king." Mei looked up from cradling me, smiling at En "She'll be able to protect herself better right?"

"I'm hoping it never gets to the point where she has the need to protect herself at all" En growled. Opening and closing his mouth a few times before seemingly coming to a decision, his hand left my shoulder, sliding to my chin to tilt my face up, making sure he had my full attention.

"Kouei…" he hesitated slightly, running his fingers over his goatee before continuing "I can offer you something better than classes from any of your tutors, but you must promise me that you will postpone your training until you are fully healed; Is that understood?"

"…? Better than Mistress Lea or Lord Ourei…?" I blinked, searching En's face as my eyes brimmed with curiosity. _Well what have I got to lose? And besides, I'm sure, if it's En, whatever he offers would be worth considering…_ "Depends on what you offer I guess…"

Hearing my answer, I watched as a small smile curled at En's lips "Rather than your normal tutors, I'll teach you personally."

…

…

…

"EHHHH?!" Kouha and Kougyoku yelled with shock, glancing between us while Hakuryuu tilted his head in confusion.

"I see… That would be a very good learning experience for you Kouei." Hakuei looked over at me smiling her approval of En's suggestion "What will you do? Will you accept it?"

"Hrnnh~~" I closed my eyes mentally deliberating, trying to calculate exactly how I could get the most out of this and how far I could potentially stretch En's patience. Weighing out my options and making a decision, I opened my eyes with a grin "…Okay, I'd like for you to teach me Big Brother En!"

"Excellent." Getting up briskly, he made to leave the room, but I stopped him by reaching out a hand and grabbing him by the arm "…?" turning back, he crossed his arms, eyes boring down at me, silently demanding an explanation.

Still grinning, I met his gaze as evenly as I could, trying not to look outwardly calm despite the fact that my nerves were restless "I'd like for you to teach me, Big Brother En… but I wonder if your terms are negotiable…"

"?" Gaze still boring into me, En cocked a thin eyebrow "Which ones?"

"For example… why do I need to be "fully healed" to start learning swordsmanship?"

"Well you wouldn't be able to hold the sword for one…" reaching down, he gently grabbed my injured arm and squeezed lightly, applying a small amount of pressure. Under normal circumstances, I probably wouldn't even have noticed, but with the multiple bruises littering my arm and the shattered bone underneath, the sensation of near blinding pain was immediate.

"…!" gritting my teeth to bite back a yell, I twisted my arm out of his grip and cradled it protectively, only letting go when Mei managed to gently coax my throbbing arm into his own hands "Shhh… there there…" he cooed wrapping an arm around me comfortingly while resting his free hand on my head, simultaneously throwing En a dirty look.

Breaking off his glaring contest with En, he gave me a gentle smile and one last pat on the head before getting up and grabbing En by the arm "Kouei, Big Brother En and I have to talk; get well soon okay?" throwing me one last smile over his shoulder, he left, dragging En along. Staring off after them, I didn't notice Kouha and Kougyoku calling me until they were leaning right in, inches from my face.

"KOUEI!"

"Y-yeah?" sweating slightly from their eager expressions, I looked to Hakuei for help, but she just smiled, waving her hand. _Urk…_ Turning back to my two older siblings, I awaited my fate.

"After you get better let's go shopping! I'll buy you a super cute dress okay?!"

"But I don't need-!"

"NO BUTS!"

… _Sigh…_

 **Kouen's POV**

After leading me to his quarters and promptly dismissing the maids that were cleaning up, Koumei finally rounded on me, a cool steely glint in his usually lazy and unassuming eyes "My brother and my king… Know that I respect you greatly, but what you did just then was uncalled for."

Straightening up, I met his gaze evenly "I believe I was only trying to prove a point; she is still injured and she is not yet well enough to even hold a sword with that hand, let alone fight with it."

"…" Koumei brought up his fan to shield the lower half of his face, but I caught the barely contained anger in his slanted pink eyes "That may be true… but then again, it may not. Why not give her a chance? She might surprise you."

"There's nothing to surprise me with; she could try to lift a sword with that arm regardless, but even you should know that she won't succeed…" breaking our eye contact, I redirected my gaze to the portrait hanging by Koumei's bedside, trying to hide the regret that was fighting to make its way into my eyes "…I only wished for her to prevent further injury to her arm…"

There was a long, drawn out silence before Koumei sighed and moved to exit the room, pausing briefly to rest his hand on my shoulder as he passed by me "…Then you should go back and explain that to her before she starts thinking that you intentionally wanted to hurt her… or at the very least, man up and apologize to her; you owe her that much."

Feeling him withdraw his hand, I waited until after I heard the click of the door closing followed by the sound of Koumei's footsteps fading away before letting out a breath that I didn't even know I had been holding. Looking down at my hand and noting its slight tremble, I closed my eyes as the images of the incident unwittingly made their way back into my mind.

 _Kouei squeezing her eyes shut in pain._

 _The flashes of shock and fear lingering in her face after she managed to twist her hand out of my grip._

 _The hurt._

 _ **The betrayal.**_

Quickly opening my eyes again trying to get rid of the feeling of guilt gripping at my heart, I made my way out of the room, staggering slightly before I regained my footing and continued on my path back down to the infirmary.

…

My heart leap to my throat as I peered around the infirmary. Kouha and Kougyoku were fast asleep on the bed and in the corner, Hakuei was sitting on a guest chair and cradling her younger brother Hakuryuu, also fast asleep but that wasn't what alarmed me the most.

Scanning the room one last time to make sure I hadn't missed her, I nodded grimly in confirmation; Kouei herself was missing.

Nearly grinding my teeth to dust in frustration, I silently closed the door behind me, walking briskly through the hallways and ignoring the bowing maids _…I think I know exactly where I will find her… She could permanently injure herself; why couldn't she wait and be patient?!_

 **Kouei's POV**

 _Phew… Somehow, I managed to get everyone to fall asleep while I snuck out here…_

Staring down at the sword in my hand, I grinned, swinging it eagerly _…En said that I wouldn't be able to hold the sword…_ Hearing the satisfying crack as my sword hacked off a chunk of the wooden practice dummy, my grin got wider, spreading all over my face _…Well I guess I just proved him wrong!_ Before I could take another swing, a familiar voice called out to me "KOUEI!"

Trying to keep the grin off of my face, I spun around to face my seething eldest brother. Easily reaching me with his quick, long strides, he snatched the sword out of my hand before grabbing my arm to examine it. Watching his face closely, I let a triumphant smile spread over my face as the anger melted from his face, quickly replaced by a rare look of shocked realization "This is…"

"Yeah…" Pulling my arm out of his grip, I waved it in front of his face, flexing my fingers "This is my left arm."

"Yes, I realize… but you are right-handed are you not?" Frowning, he watched as I picked up the sword again.

"Yeah, I'm right-handed… but if something like this happens again, I think it'd be handy to know how to use my left hand as well; you know… like a secret back-up weapon of some sort or something like that." Grinning, I turned back to the practice dummy "That way, you'd have to break both my arms to disable me… Ah~ I guess you caught me which is a shame because I'd really like to practice with you Big Brother En, you've captured 3 dungeons and-!" I was cut off when En wrapped his arms around me, steadying my stance and adjusting my grip.

 **Kouen's POV**

"… It won't just be swordsmanship. Magoi manipulation, Djinn equip and basic tactical strategies…" shifting my hands down, I adjusted her footing "…I know that Koumei has been teaching you military strategies, but I'll need to instruct you in the first three…" I met her gaze and held it, red clashing with red "Know that this will not be easy and that I will have absolutely no mercy whatsoever."

"Yeah I got it… Thanks Big Brother En!" Turning around unexpectedly, Kouei grinned, throwing her arms around me and hugging me as I stiffened, hesitating for a few moments before hugging back "…You're welcome Kouei…" remembering what Koumei had dragged me aside for as I pulled her close, resting my head on hers, I added in a whisper "…And I'm sorry about your hand."

"…?" lifting her head up, she gave me a close-eyed smile "Did you say something Big Brother En?"

"…No, it's nothing…" lifting my hand to ruffle her hair, I tried to give a gentle smile like Koumei's _…We're brothers so we inherited physical traits from the same parents… How hard can copying a smile be?_ Apparently harder than winning a war or capturing a dungeon, judging from the concerned look on Kouei's face.

"Ummm… Big Brother En, are you alright? Your face is twitching…"

Giving up, I let my face smooth back into its usual impassiveness "…Yes, I'm alright…"

"YAY! So can we start practicing now?!" Seeing her hopeful expression, I wondered if I could somehow ignore the piles of paperwork on my desk or possibly push the off onto someone else… _Someone like Koumei…_

 _ **No.** As the 1st Imperial Prince / Crown Prince of the Kou Empire, that would be an extremely immature and irresponsible thing for me to do. **Still…**_ Looking down at her innocent smile, I gave an internal sigh before reaching up to discard my cape and outer robes "Alright… but just 15 minutes."

"6 hours!" I paused, turning over to frown at her before opening my mouth to reprimand her, but instead of a lecture…

"…30 minutes."

"4 and a half hours."

"45 minutes."

"3 hours."

I narrowed my eyes, drawing myself up to my full height to try and intimidate her "I'll go as high as 1 hour."

"And I'll go as low as 2."

"…Deal." I sighed, resignedly reaching over to pick up a practice sword myself.

 _~3 hour time skip~_

"Are you satisfied yet?" I watched, arms crossed, waiting for a blow that seemed unlikely to ever come as she panted, swaying alarmingly.

"No, I can still keep on going…" Running forward, I managed to catch her just before she fell, legs giving way and buckling beneath her as she went unconscious.

"…" Sighing, I scooped her up into my arms, carrying her back to her quarters and gently setting her down in her bed. Inwardly debating on whether or not it would be an inappropriate invasion of privacy, I gave in and cupped her face with my hand, running my thumb over her cheek, smiling as she unconsciously leaned into it in her sleep. I might have stayed there a lot longer, just watching over Kouei as she slept, but at that moment, someone behind me gave a polite cough.

Turning around, I saw Koumei standing at the door with a grim expression on his face. Stepping into the room, his expression softened slightly as he ran his fingers through Kouei's hair, but his face grew serious again as he beckoned for me to follow him. Frowning as we walked through the hallways of the palace, I glanced over at my younger brother "Koumei, what is it?"

Stopping in front of Father's throne room, he turned to me, an uncharacteristic frown on his face "…It's Father… just a few hours ago, he received a letter from King Sinbad of Sindria requesting an audience."

 _~End of Chapter 3 (Cliffhanger!)~_

 **Author's Note:**

Hey guys! Sorry for the late update, but I just got back to school after the brief week of peace following the exams OTL

And I have to admit… this chapter went roughly 2000 words over my standard word quota per chapter so if it feels even longer and more boring than usual… that's coz it is xDDDD

If you liked, please follow/favorite/review, or if you didn't like it, please tell me which parts you didn't like so I can improve it for the next chapter! :D

Thanks to all my readers so far! You guys are my inspiration and my muse and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :D

P.S. Also, special thanks to the reviewer who told me not to eat instant noodles next to a computer coz the same day I stopped doing that, it happened to my brother xDDD


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

 **Author's Note:**

 _Hiya! Sorry for the late update, but I've been really busy since I'm entering my last year of high school so life's been pretty hectic and the timing of my chapter updates are completely out of my control at the moment^^; Again, super sorry to all my poor readers out there and here's the (long overdue) update to this story! xD And I think that's about it… Oh! I almost forgot! I don't own Magi no matter how much I beg Santa this Christmas and Special thanks to Jaxrond for agreeing to beta-read for me and thanks to all of you readers out there :)_

 _In the previous chapter, Kouei conquered a dungeon and claimed the Djinn named Haagenti as her own and, after a brief battle with Sinbad and 2 of his generals, managed to return home. Little does she know however, that Sinbad had sent a letter requesting an audience to her father… What could he possibly want?_

 **Start of Story:**

 **Kouen's POV**

"Ugh… AGAIN!"

Feeling a frown tug at my lips as I watched Kouei attack the practice dummy, letting out a loud battle cry, my eyes narrowed as I saw the obvious signs of exhaustion that my youngest sister refused to acknowledge. Countless blisters littered her fingers as she clenched the practice sword with a white-knuckled grip, almost as if she was worried that if she loosened her hold for even a moment, she'd drop the blade. Eyebrows drawing nearer to reflect my disapproval, my frown deepened as Kouei lifted her sword once more, sweat carving salty tracks down her face as she gritted her teeth to land another blow on the dummy "…Again…!"

"No, that will do for today Kouei." Quickly making my way over in long strides, I scooped Kouei up into my arms, ignoring her squawk of mixed indignation and protest and her weak attempts to fight me off and let her get back to training as I carried her back indoors in my arms. Despite my best attempts to mask my amusement, I couldn't help the small smile that spread across my lips as she pounded against my chest with her small fists; A Fanalis she may be, but a tired Fanalis was also a weakened Fanalis so I barely felt her punches.

Feeling her blows get weaker and weaker, eventually stopping by the time we reached her quarters, I looked down and let a rare smile grace my features at the sight of a peacefully sleeping Kouei; her somewhat messy hair slightly shaggy and untamed and her large eyes framed by long eyelashes all contributing to the image that she was very simply just an ordinary young girl, unfettered by any ties with royalty.

Gently opening the door to her room and setting her down in her bed, my eyes softened slightly as I made to sweep on of her long bangs out of her face only to widen in shock as a small hand reached up and closed around my wrist and a tired voice mumbled out something unintelligible. Letting my shocked gaze slide down, I let out a small sigh of relief when I saw that Kouei's eyes were still closed and blissfully unaware of her surroundings _…So I didn't wake her up after all…_ Hesitatingly slightly before my curiosity won out, I leaned down to make out what she was mumbling.

Murmuring for a bit before reaching up with both hands, arms encircling my neck and catching me off guard, Kouei unconsciously pulled me down closer to her while I struggled to support myself in an attempt to avoid crushing her under my weight "…En… Don't go…!" Freezing, I watched Kouei smile in her sleep before loosening her hold on me and letting me slide out of her grip.

"…" Watching over Kouei as I sat beside her bed, I sighed and let a bitter smile tug at my lips _…Kouei…_ Reaching out to cup her cheek before remembering the unexpected hug she pulled me into, I decided against it and pulled my hand back, feeling a trace of melancholy make its way into my eyes _…you probably would have had a much happier life with a lot less burdens to worry about if you had been born into a regular family…_

Watching her peaceful expression, I let a small sigh escape my lips before closing my eyes and leaning back, recalling what had happened yesterday.

 _~Flashback to last chapter's cliffhanger~_

 **Kouen's POV**

Timidly knocking on the door before stepping back and covering his face with his fan, Koumei waited to hear a tired "come in" from our father before reaching out to open the door, holding it open for me and closing it behind himself after a quick glance around the throne room told him that there were no unwelcome audience around. Clasping my hands in front of me, I bowed in respect as Koumei followed in suit "Father…"

Lazily gesturing for us to rise with a tired gesture of his hand, Father slumped into his chair, an uncharacteristically beaten and worn down expression on his face as he read through the scroll he had clutched in front of him. Letting out an exhausted sigh as he rolled up the scroll before proffering it us, Koumei made to reach out for it but I stopped with a look and a raised hand before reaching out to accept the scroll myself.

Red eyes widening in shock as I read and reread through the contents of the scroll just to make sure I wasn't mistaken the first time, my eyes narrowed in disgust before I shoved the scroll into fidgeting Koumei's arms. Fumbling with the scroll for a few moments before he managed to hold it out in front of him, Koumei's usually lazy and slanted pink eyes got wider and wider as he read through the contents of scroll, whole body shaking with fear and disgust by the time he reached the bottom of the scroll "T-This is…!"

Nodding grimly, I took the scroll back from Koumei before glaring at the short but provocative contents of the letter.

 _ **To the Emperor of the Kou Empire and whomever else it may concern,**_

 _ **The King of Sindria humbly requests an audience with representatives of the Royal family of Kou.**_

 _ **In particular, we would like to request the presence of the 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **Imperial princess Kouei.**_

 _ **Signed:**_

 _ **Sindria's Minister of Affairs, Ja'far**_

 _ **And**_

 _ **His Royal Majesty, King Sinbad of Sindria**_

 _ **P.S. We await your reply so please send your response by letter as soon as possible.**_

"M-My Brother and My king…?" Reaching a slightly shaking hand, Koumei's slanted pink eyes looked me over with a mixture of fear and concern "I know you are angry, I'm angry too, but it is at times like these that we can't afford to lose our rationality so as much effort as I know it will cost you, please restrain yourself."

"…!" Gritting my teeth before shoving the scroll back into Koumei's chest, I whipped around to face our father, anger dripping into every syllable of my voice "Father…! You can't seriously be thinking of agreeing to these terms!"

Sighing as he laced his fingers together and rested them in his lap, Father shook his head "Given his reputation with women, I have no intention of letting him near any of my daughters…" Eyes flickering with slightly with a hint of mirth, Father's lips curled with a trace of amusement "…And it was only by stroke of luck that his charms didn't ensnare Kouei as young as she is… But once she gets older and becomes a woman…"

"…Then we must keep her away from his corrupting influence as much as possible…" Koumei nodded, eyes narrowing over as he covered the uncharacteristically bitter frown on his face with his black feather fan.

Clenching my fists, nails digging into my palms, my eyes narrowed as I remembered Sinbad at the last International gathering of rulers; countless women hanging off of him, pouring him drinks and sitting in his lap "…No way." Meeting their surprised gazes with my glare, I folded my arms across my chest, crimson eyes blazing with a mixture of rage and fury.

Angrily snatching the letter out of Koumei's hands again, I tore the scroll in half ignoring my younger brother's horrified gasp "Just because he requested Kouei's presence doesn't mean that we always have to give him what he wants." Throwing the shredded remains of the scroll into the fire, I scowled, watching with grim satisfaction as it caught fire and burned "By all means have that meeting with him if you want to save face, father, but leave Kouei out of it." Turning to meet Koumei's gaze, my eyes narrowed reflecting my displeasure "Keep this meeting a secret from Kouei or she will definitely try to come."

With that said, I turned to exit the room, door slamming behind me as my cape billowed behind me.

 _Rest reassured Kouei, last time I couldn't be there for you…_

 _But this time as your older brother,_ _ **I will definitely protect you…!**_

 _~Flashback End~_

 **Kouen's POV**

 _You definitely would've had an easier life if you had been born into a regular family, Kouei…_

Reaching down and brushing her bangs out of her eyes, a creaking sound behind me alerted me to the presence of her manservant, Ryoukan, coming in to clean Kouei's quarters. Straightening up and turning to face him as he bowed, I gestured for him to rise before pointing at Kouei "She's been through a lot of training today and she's very tired, so when she wakes up, please give her a nice warm bath and tell the palace cooks to prepare her favorite meal for dinner tonight…" Turning to make my way out of the room before remembering the meeting that Sinbad requested, I paused, looking back over my shoulder to say one last thing "…And also, please come to my quarters later tonight, I have something I'd like us to discuss."

"As you wish Prince Kouen." He replied, bowing once more.

Nodding in satisfaction at his response, I turned and exited the room, mind blank as I let my thoughts wander.

 _I should've paid more attention to my surroundings, because if I had…_

 _ **I would have noticed a certain pink-haired brother of mine hiding behind the door and eavesdropping.**_

 **Kouha's POV**

"…" Waiting until the sound of En's footsteps had faded away completely, I stood up and came out of my hiding spot _…So something's happening huh..?_ I frowned, remembering the serious tone that En had used before smirking and walking off in the opposite direction back to my own quarters _…And here I was just hoping to make sure that Kouei was alright…_ Clenching my fists slightly before loosening them, my eyes narrowed.

 _ **If En thought it was worth hiding, then that means it must be worth finding out.**_

 _~Time Skip to a few hours later to Dinnertime~_

 **Kouha's POV**

Sweets. Sweets covering the entire tabletop.

"…En-nii… What's this?" I asked, sweatdropping slightly as I stared at the countless plates of cakes and tarts "Where's dinner?"

"This is dinner, Kouha" Frowning down at the slice of cake on his plate, En-nii made no move to start eating _…?_ I frowned as I dug my fork into the tart in front of me _…Isn't he hungry…? Ah!_ Grinning to myself, I remembered the fact that En hates sweets. _But…_

I smiled, shifting my gaze to our youngest sister who was happily chowing down while Mei worriedly held a napkin to her face, wiping away all of the food she got all over her face every now and then _…Ei seems to be enjoying herself so I'd bet that En probably told the kitchen chefs to make Ei's favorites…_ Shaking my head at En's distressed expression as he lifted his fork looking like he was about to cry, I muffled my laughter _…Poor En…_ I watched eagerly as he reluctantly lifted the cake to his mouth, but–

"Prince Kouen." Frowning as En lowered his fork with a relieved look on his face, I pouted and turned to the source of the distraction _…Ah, it's Ei's servant…_ Pout immediately leaving my face, I watched like a hawk as he made his way over to En and whispered into his ear before they both nodded and En stood up to leave beckoning to Mei "Koumei, come."

"Yes my brother and my king." Whipping my head around to watch as my second oldest brother also stood, Mei gave Ei one last smile and a pat on the head before gently setting his own cake laden plate on top of Ei's recently emptied one "Here you go Kouei, I know you love cake so you can have mine. Enjoy!" Pausing briefly to kiss her on the forehead and ruffle her hair, he also left the room followed closely by our father _…Strange…_ I thought, brows furrowing together as I watched them leave _…this must be that meeting in En's quarters that I overheard when I went to visit Ei…_

"…" Looking up to make sure that everyone was engrossed in their meals, I gave a mischievous smirk before slipping off to follow them.

…

…

…

 _~Smallish time skip to when they arrive at Kouen's quarters~_

 **Koumei's POV**

Entering my brother and my king's quarters before closing the door behind me, I glanced over to my father and waited for his weary nod of approval before bowing and turning to Kouei's manservant Ryoukan "Ryoukan, as you are aware, Kouei has recently conquered a dungeon and she was attacked by a man shortly after wards causing her injuries…"

"…Well that same man that attacked her, King Sinbad of Sindria, is requesting an audience with us." My brother and my king finished, crimson red eyes flickering with a hint of impatience. Blue eyes widening for a second before narrowing again, Ryoukan exhaled through tightly compressed lips before hiding his balled fists in his long sleeves. Getting down on one knee, he clasped his hands together in respect as he lowered his head "Your Highnesses, if I may be so bold…?"

Gesturing for him to rise, Father nodded "Speak freely."

Unsteadily getting to his feet as his shoulders shook in anger, Kouei's caretaker met Father's gaze evenly "Emperor Koutoku, you mustn't let Princess Kouei near that man again…!" Lowering his gaze again, Ryoukan clenched his shaking fists hard enough for his nails to draw blood "I saw her injuries for myself and if it weren't for Mistress Lea's magic and Prince Kouen's Djinn Phenex, she could have been permanently injured…" Bowing once more, he knelt at Father's feet "…I humbly request of your Highnesses not to let the Princess near him again…!"

"…" Stroking a hand through his beard, Father opened his mouth to speak, but a sound outside stopped him _…! Who's eavesdropping…?_ Whipping around to stare at the door with wide pink eyes, I hesitantly opened my mouth, but Ryoukan was the first to recover. Storming up to the door, he threw it open to glare at however was behind it "Who goes there?!" But he immediately had to look down because the person he was yelling at was 2 feet shorter than he had anticipated, even more so since they had fallen onto the floor, stunned from his voice. Peering around Kouei's stunned manservant, my pink eyes widened at the figure on the floor. _That figure, it was… he was…!_

"Kouha" Getting to his feet, my brother and my king offered a hand to our youngest brother "I've been expecting you; come join us."

"…" taking my brother and my king's hand, Kouha pouted slightly, glancing off to the side as a dull red flush made its way across his face "En… I'm sorry I just–!"

"Kouha, am I correct in assuming that you heard everything we've said so far?" Kouen's voice cut across Kouha's as his crimson red eyes gazed into our youngest brother intently but not unkindly. Opening and closing his mouth a few times, Kouha lowered his gaze to the floor as he nodded sheepishly "I… yeah… I'm sorry En, I didn't mean to, I just couldn't resist…"

"Curiosity is not a sin Prince Kouha, but as I'm always telling Princess Kouei, exercising caution is also important." Smiling slightly as he gently reprimanded Kouha, Ryoukan closed the door once more "But since you are here, Prince Kouha, have you got any ideas to keep the Princess away from King Sinbad?"

Giving a grin for the first time since he entered the room, Kouha looked up, mischievous eyes twinkling "Yep! I do actually! We can invite that king over as long as we keep Kouei busy for the entire day so the two of them don't actually get a chance to meet face-to-face right?"

"…Well… I admit that would be an ideal scenario…" my brother and king murmured, thoughtfully stroking his goatee "We accept their request for an audience, but we are not politically obligated to actually let him meet with Kouei…"

"Right?! Well then it's settled!" Turning to leave the room, Kouha shot a wink over his shoulder "Just let me know which day he's coming and we're good to go."

"…" Lifting my black feather fan to cover my face as I watched my youngest brother leave, I couldn't help a sense of disquiet wash over me.

… _ **Kouha is loyal to the Kou Empire and our family and he won't ever intentionally hurt Kouei, but…**_

 _ **He's a bit eccentric so I can only hope everything goes according to plan…**_

…

…

…

 _~Time skip to the day of Sinbad's arrival~_

 **Kouei's POV**

"NO!" I flinched as an animalistic growl made its way out of my pink-haired brother's throat before he tossed aside the latest dress he'd been holding up in front of me. Pouting at his lack of success, Kouha grabbed my hand and dragged me along behind him as he tore random dresses off of their shelves to hold in front of me before rejecting each and every last one to repeat the process.

"Hey Kouha…" I glanced around at all the mess before turning back to him, trying to pick my words carefully so he wouldn't fly into another abrupt rage "You've rejected almost a hundred dresses already… Can we call it a day…?"

Turning to me, eyes glinting as he growled, Kouha grabbed me by the shoulders and gave me a slight shake to emphasize each of his words "NO! Just Mei is bad enough; I don't need TWO fashionably challenged people in my family!"

Letting me go, he gave me a reassuring slap on the back before he wound his arm around my neck laughing "But don't you worry! Your awesome big brother Kouha will soon find you the right dress!" I gave a sigh as he went back to tearing dresses off of their shelves and holding them up to me before tossing them aside. _This is going to be a long day…_

…

…

…

Finally making it back to the palace, I sighed, arms laden down with bags piled higher than my line of vision. In the end, Kouha had deemed all of the dresses on that street "awful" and "lame" so he had gone instead to the tailoring vendor to buy materials; insisting that he would make the dress himself.

Unfortunately, since he had dismissed all of his handmaidens and guards, declaring that this was a "Brother-sister" bonding field trip, we had to divide the purchases between us to carry them home by ourselves. As "the awesomely protective big brother", Kouha had insisted on walking in front of me to clear the path. At the time I had agreed, but if I had known what that had meant…

…

"MOVE IT OR LOSE IT! Watch where you're going coz I'm sure not!" Kouha yelled, shoving his way through the throng of maids.

"Kouha, what is going on-?"

"OOMPH!"

Hearing a grunt from a certain pink-haired brother of mine followed by a thud as he presumably fell, I shifted the bundle in my arms, trying to peer around a roll of silk "Kouha?! What's wrong?! Are you alright-?! OOMPH!" Giving a grunt of my own as I tripped over something, I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the impact of the moment I'd make contact with the floor… Only that moment never came.

Feeling two strong, protective arms wrap around me, preventing my fall, I opened my eyes cautiously, peering up to see two fiery red eyes piercing into me… _Big Brother En's eyes…_

Hoisting me up before gingerly setting me down, En folded his arms over his chest, crimson orbs boring into me as he lifted one eyebrow, awaiting an answer to his silent question.

"Oh Um…" Seeing En's eyes glance briefly towards the scattered dress materials before sliding back to me, I offered a sheepish grin, watching Mei help Kouha back up out of the corner of my eye "Kouha… decided to buy me a new dress but he wasn't happy with any of them so… he thought… we'd buy materials and make one ourselves…?"

"…I see…" Eyes clouding over with slight concern as he observed the near countless rolls of silk, fabric and other materials, his eyes shifted back to meet mine once more "…Is your current wardrobe not enough to please you?"

"That's not it-"

"ONLY ONE WARDROBE IS NEVER ENOUGH!"

Blinking, Big Brother En and I shared a glance before both turning to stare at Kouha who was jabbing an accusing finger in Big Brother En's direction while an extremely flustered Mei waved his arms around frantically, desperately trying to get him to lower his arm.

"Kouha… It's rude to point, you shouldn't learn bad habits like that- Ah!" Seeing Mei give a small gasp and stumble when Kouha impatiently shoved him aside to start another verbal fight with Big Brother En, I quickly dashed over to catch him before he fell and potentially injured himself. Wrapping my arms around his waist to steady him, I looked up anxiously, wide red eyes reflecting my concern as I looked him up and down to make sure he was unharmed "Mei~ are you okay?"

 **Koumei's POV**

Lowering my hand to pat her on the head, I smiled before reaching down to pick her up "Yeah… Big Brother Mei is fine, just was a bit uncareful that's all." Giving an embarrassed grin, I sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck.

Letting a grin spread over her own face, she nodded, wrapping her arms around my neck for a hug "That's not good! You should be more careful Mei… Well I say that, but being clumsy is a big part of Big Brother Mei too! So… being a bit uncareful is fine as long as it's just a little bit; got it?"

"Hai Hai." Shifting Kouei around in my arms to make sure I didn't drop her, I almost failed to notice the ominous aura surrounding both Kouha and Kouen. _Almost._

 **Kouei's POV**

Feeling a light tremor spread through Mei's arms, I lifted my head in time to see the trickle of sweat that made its way down his ashen face. Opening my mouth in concern to ask what was wrong, I was cut off when I was wrenched out of his arms by a strong, vice-like grip.

Whipping my head around to see who had grabbed me, I had barely registered the sight of a muscular chest before I was set down and a sword was shoved in my face. Big Brother En's sword.

Slowly reaching my hands out to take the proffered blade, I held it before me before tilting my head up to give my eldest brother a questioning look.

"My sword is dull." He stated before I could ask, impassive red eyes boring into me "I need it taken down to the blacksmith in town to be resharpened before I can train anymore."

"…Then why don't you do it yourself?" Still looking down at the sword, my eyes clouded over with confusion "You never needed anyone to run the errand for you before this…"

"This time I'm busy" Straightening up, he turned around and made to leave, long cape billowing in his wake "I have a very important meeting to attend, so if you'll excuse me I have to get going." But he had barely gone halfway across the room before I caught up with him and grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

Turning to face me and folding his muscular arms over his equally muscular chest, he frowned down at me, crimson red eyes boring into me as he demanded an answer to his unasked question only to widen in shock as I shoved his sword back into his arms.

"No thanks." Eyes flashing, I folded my arms over my chest and imitated his posture "I know Mei has way more meetings than you and he always finds time to do all that paperwork you give him on top of that." Meeting his positively befuddled gaze with a glare, my eyes narrowed "Go sharpen that sword by yourself, and like you're always telling Mei: stop being lazy!"

Taking one last heated look at his uncharacteristically slack-jawed expression, I scowled as I headed towards the door only for Kouha to leap in my way, barring the exit. "Hey Kouei! Want to… uhhh… come to the market and pick up more pretty dress materials with Big Brother Kouha? Whaddya say?"

"Huh? Shopping for dress materials?" I frowned, anger melting away slightly as my eyebrows knitted together to reflect my confusion "But didn't we already buy more than enough?"

"C'mon Please!" Still not moving out of my way, Kouha flapped his arms wildly, long pink hair flying in all directions as he barricaded me from making my exit "This is really super important for your Big Brother! Go and get the materials for me please?!"

"…?" Seeing his nervous grin, the light sheen of sweat shining on his forehead and the slight tremor in his posture, I frowned suspiciously at the strange behavior of my two older brothers. _Something weird is going on here…_

"Big Brother En… Big Brother Kouha… You two are acting really weird; is there something you're hiding from me or not telling me?" Watching closely as they both gave slight but noticeable flinches, my lips curled in triumph. _Bingo._ I opened my mouth to ask them what they were hiding, but before I could get a single word out, Mei crouched in front of me, a crooked close-eyed smile on his face as he reached out a hand and patted me affectionately on the head.

"Kouei… You were at the market all day weren't you?" he asked, still smiling as he ran his fingers through my hair. Not caring about whether or not my actions might tangle my hair, I nodded, returning his smile with a grin "Un! I was! Kouha took me to a lot of different shops coz he couldn't decide which dress to buy!"

"I see…" Reaching for a roll of silk that had fallen from the bundle that I'd been carrying, Mei ignored Kouha's indignant squawk as he took out a quill that he had tucked away in his sleeve and started writing on it.

Finally finishing up, Mei gave another smile as he handed me the ink-stained silk "Kouei… Since Big Brother Mei is busy with a meeting and you've familiarized yourself with the market, could you please run an errand for me and get all those books for me from the book shop?" Still smiling gently, Mei unstrapped the silk pouch that had been hanging from his waist and handed it to me, kind eyes twinkling as he helped me strap it onto my own waist "There should be more than enough to pay for all the books in there, so go and buy yourself some sweets while you're at it alright?"

 **Koumei's POV**

"Okay!" Tucking the roll of silk that I'd written the list of books onto into the pouch, Kouei gave a bright grin and threw her arms around my neck, squeezing affectionately "Big Brother En works you really hard so I know you're really busy… Of course I'll get those books for you Mei!" Pulling my face down to give me one last peck on the cheek, Kouei gave an innocent smile before waving me good bye "Bye bye Mei! I'll get your books and be back real quick!"

Smiling softly, I waved her off "Thank you Kouei… Take your time, don't get lost, don't talk to any boys or strangers and be safe!" Lowering my hand after she was out of sight, I let my smile widen as my eyes clouded over with nostalgia, the image of her retreating back still fresh in my mind _…She's really grown up from when I first held her right after she had been born…_ Beaming, I didn't notice my brother and my king's presence behind me until he clapped a heavy hand onto my shoulder making my smile fade immediately. _Uh oh…_

Turning around slowly to face my fate, I gave a nervous smile when I saw the ominous atmosphere surrounding both Kouha and Kouen.

"I don't get it…" Pouting slightly, Kouha adjusted his Nyoi Rentou slung carelessly over his shoulder "I know that you were both trying to get her out of the palace before that stupid king you told me about arrives for the stupid audience he requested with father, but…The blacksmith is closer to the palace than book shops… and not to mention, there's no way that En's sword can be heavier than all the books on that list you just gave Kouei…" Pout deepening, Kouha gave an annoyed click of his tongue before turning to face Kouen and jabbing a finger in my direction "En! Make sure to give him the worse job possible in the meeting, okay?!"

"Do not worry…" _Although if the expression he was wearing on his face at the moment was anything to go by…_ I thought, sweat cascading down my face and the back of my neck in steady trickles _…I think that I have_ _ **everything**_ _to be worried about…_

Frown deepening as he tightened his grip on my shoulder, I winced as Kouen's frown morphed into a sadistic smirk "…It was my intention from the beginning to delegate a menial task to Koumei."

"M-My brother and king…!"

"Shut up. No buts. If you have any complaints, I'll give you extra paperwork."

"Yeah! You're telling him En!"

… _ **Sigh…**_

…

…

…

 **Kouei's POV**

"PRINCESS! I'm so glad you're alright! I WAS SO WORRIED!"

"Hey Kouei! You're okay!"

From the countless scrolls spread out in front of him, it looked like Judal was in the middle of a lesson from Ryoukan _…Although…_ I thought, a nervous smile twitching at my lips _…If the vacant looks that were on their faces were anything to go by, it looks like neither of them were really getting anything done…_ Letting an amused smile tug at my lips, I raised my gaze to meet Judal's only to be startled by the unmistakably watery glisten in Judal's red eyes.

"Judal… Are you crying…?"

"I'M NOT CRYING! THE GREAT JUDAL DOES NOT CRY! I'm snotting! From my eyeballs!" Viciously rubbing at his eyes with both arms, Judal scowled, red eyes narrowed as he inspected his dampened sleeves "It's gross and it's all your fault!"

"…" _So he did care at least a little…_ Watching as the high priest of the Kou Empire sniffed and dried his face, I let the small smile on my face morph into a wide grin. "Hey Judal, thanks!"

"Hah?!" Seeing the momentary flicker of confusion and doubt that flickered past his face, I bit back a laugh, knowing how offended the short-tempered Magi would get "What are you talking about now?! Girls are crazy!" Stomping his way over and giving me a shove, He gave me one last scowl before turning his back on me, but not before I caught the red tint that covered his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.

Still giggling slightly, I reached out a tentative hand and laid it on Judal's shoulder "Hey Judal, I'm sorry about that okey? I just couldn't resist…" I smiled, sheepishly rubbing the back of my neck "Forgive me?"

Perking up immediately, Judal grinned before whipping around and snatching the book out of Ryoukan's grip, ignoring his complaints before shoving said book in my face, determined red eyes twinkling "Explain this to me and I'll forgive you!"

Sweatdropping slightly as I took in the countless runes on the magical tome, I giggled lightly before shaking my head … _Leave it to Judal to milk this for all it's worth…_ Still smiling, I nodded, signaling my agreement "Alright… I will but not now okay Judal?" Turning towards the door, I made my way to the exit "I've got an errand to run for Mei right now but I promise I'll help you out after I'm done!" Not even bothering to turn back and look at him while I spoke, I didn't notice Judal making his way towards me until he leapt in front of me, blocking off my path out the door.

Red eyes narrowing slightly, Judal looked me over, scrutinizing me "Wait… You're going out alone?!"

"Yup!" Giving a close-eyed smile, I shoved my hand into Mei's pouch and brought out the roll of silk with the list of books printed on it in Mei's meticulously neat and precise writing "Mei needed these books real quick!"

"Hunh…" Seeing Judal make to snatch the list out of my hands, I immediately let go, not wanting the fragile silk to tear, leaving the words illegible. Glaring at the list and constantly turning it over in his hands, I fidgeted slightly at Judal's frown, half expecting the silk to ignite from his intense stare.

Finally finishing up his inspection, Judal wordlessly shoved the list back into my chest before hurriedly trying to pack up the scrolls littering his desk. Quickly rolling up the scrolls and shoving them messily into a wooden crate, Judal smiled in satisfaction as he dumped the last of the manuscripts into the box. Picking up his staff which had been resting casually against his chair, he whipped around and grabbed my wrist before roughly pulling me towards the door "Well I'm coming with you."

Blinking slightly, unsure of whether or not I had misheard him, I spoke up tentatively "…I'm sorry, but what?"

Stopping just short of the exit of the palace, Judal glanced back over his shoulder, a steely look of determination in his red eyes. Seeing his gaze drop to my injured arm for a split second, I saw a flicker of _… worry…?_

… _ **No…**_ _That can't be right…_ I thought shaking my head to myself _…Nothing_ _ **ever**_ _worries Judal… Still_ laughing at myself over how silly I'd been, I didn't notice Judal let go of my arm and turn to face me with both hands planted firmly on his hips until he spoke up, red eyes narrowed.

Tilting his chin up slightly in a silent challenge, Judal's red eyes flashed, jaw tightening slightly "You heard me; I'm coming with you!"

"…Eh? You sure?" Blinking now more than ever in confusion, I reached a hand up to sweep my crimson bangs back to get a closer look at Judal, the most famous (Or, perhaps in this case, most infamous) hater of books in the Kou Empire. Pressing my lips together in slight worry over the possible scenarios, I gave a noticeable wince as countless images of burned, torn and utterly destroyed books and a tearful Mei filled my mind. Exhaling shakily, I spoke as calmly as I could, choosing my words carefully so as to not set of the Magi "…I never took you to be the type to like books, so I'm worried it'll be really boring for you…"

"I SAID I WAS COMING DAMMIT!"

Giving an uncertain smile, I turned to my manservant and mentor "…Ryoukan… Would you like to come with us?"

Opening and closing his mouth a few times before he spoke, Ryoukan deliberated for a moment before seemingly coming to a decision; although, if his expression was anything to go by, it seemed to have been a difficult choice. Clasping his hands before him, Ryoukan bowed, speaking with his head lowered "…Princess… As much of an honor as it is to be asked to accompany you, I'm afraid that I have some errands of my own to run…" Raising his head slightly to meet my gaze, he gave me a sad smile, a look of regret lingering in his eyes "…So if you may excuse me and bade me leave just this once…"

"Oh… I see…" giving him a mournful smile of my own, I felt a light tug on my sleeve as Judal gave an impatient grunt and made to drag me away. Giving Ryoukan a wave over my shoulder, I gave a close-eyed smile "Good luck Ryoukan! Let me know if you're finding the workload too heavy and I'll speak to Big Brother En for you okay?"

 **Ryoukan's POV**

"Thank you Princess…" I murmured, keeping my head lowered until she was out of sight. Straightening up, I adjusted my robes and glanced over my shoulder one last time to double-check and make sure the Princess wasn't coming back any time soon before quietly making my way to Emperor Koutoku's throne room to be present for the scheduled meeting with the Sindrian King, weighed down by a heavy heart and an equally heavy conscience.

 _My deepest apologies Princess… It was not my intention to keep this meeting from you, but my dearest wish is for you to grow up as happy and unburdened as a child of the Royal family can be…_

 _~Back with Kouei who was sent on an errand + smallish time skip~_

 **Kouei's POV**

…

…

…

"…And that one should be the last one!" Grinning as I crossed off the last book on the list with the quill I had borrowed from the owner of the book shop, I gave a satisfied nod "Yep… That should be all of them, right?"

"Yeah, it better be the last one!" Leaping up from where he'd been sitting on a pile of books, Judal scowled, distinctive red eyes flashing as he twirled his staff threateningly "If I see one more damn book today, I'll fucking burn it!"

Giving a small smile, I shook my head "Well I did warn you…" Stacking the books Mei requested into a neat pile before binding the bundle, I hoisted it onto one shoulder, mindful of keeping my line of vision clear after the flying silk fiasco from this morning "…also, please don't go burning these because Mei really needs them…" Grinning as I held my free fist in front of him, pinky extended, I tilted my head, smile not leaving my lips "Promise okay?"

"Urgh… Not this girly thing again…" Grumbling slightly as a dull red flush made its way over the bridge of his nose and the tips of his ears, Judal hooked his pinky around mine halfheartedly "There, I promised okay?"

"Yeah, you did!" Giving a close-eyed smile, I withdrew my hand to adjust the package over my shoulder, not noticing the confused look on Judal's face laced with longing as he stared down at his still outstretched hand. Finally managing to balance the bundle of books, I glanced up to the sky, frowning at the low positon of the sun.

Peering into the pouch of money that Mei had given me to cover the expenses of the errand, I reached my hand in and beamed when I managed to fish out 5 gold pieces and 3 silver pieces _…Well Mei did say I should get myself something before I went home…_ Turning to Judal, I caught him staring at my hand for a split-second before his gaze snapped up at my voice "Hey Judal! Mei told me I could go and get a cake with the left over money…" Grinning, I pointed at a dessert shop nearby "Wanna go and get some dessert before we go home?"

"Wha…?" Giving me a dazed stare before seeming snapping out of it, Judal gave an affirmative nod "I mean yeah! The dessert shop right?! Let's go!" Spinning around, I sweatdropped slightly as Judal practically sprinted into the dessert shop to avoid my gaze. _What was that all about…?_ Shaking my head slightly I shrugged it off _…Well… whatever…_ I thought, smiling slightly as I followed Judal into the dessert shop, the warmth from his fingers still lingering in my hand.

 _~Back in Emperor Koutoku's throne room~_

 **Koumei's POV**

"Awwh… Is this everyone that's gonna be here?" Resting his jaw on his knuckles, King Sinbad tilted his head slightly, golden eyes shining with a well-hidden glint "And here I was hoping I would get to see Kouei again…" Giving an elaborate sigh, the purple haired male let the smallest of smirks grace his lips "Even though I specifically told my advisor Ja'far to request her presence at this meeting in the letter…"

"He did." Tightening my grip on my pen as my eyes gave an uncharacteristic flash of anger, I barely resisted the urge to throw myself at the Sindrian king and strangle him; but I had a feeling that that wouldn't bode well for the already strained relationships between Sindria and the Kou Empire.

Exhaling through tightly compressed lips, I continued, voice trembling with scarcely concealed anger "Your advisor did indeed request Kouei's presence at his meeting, but we deemed fulfilling such a condition rather frivolous and completely unnecessary for the purpose of this meeting…" _I'm not letting you near my precious little sister you lecherous scumbag…!_ Eyes narrowing, I recalled the image of Kouei, lying in my arms badly beaten… _Arm twisted at an unnatural angle…_ _ **All covered in blood…**_

Closing my eyes, I suppressed an involuntary shudder remembering how broken she looked… _how helpless I felt…_ Opening my eyes again, I returned King Sinbad's playfully amused smirk with a cold glare "She is not in the palace right now, so we would not be able to summon her even if we had any desire to." I watched him carefully for any signs of resignation or disappointment, but to my surprise and slight unease, he continued to smile, showing no outward change in his expression at all _…Just what on earth was he planning…?_

"I see…" Exchanging troubled glances with my brother and king, I caught the underlying hint of worry in his normally impassive gaze as King Sinbad threw his head back and started laughing. Seeing the way Father's fists clenched ever so slightly as a muscle jump in my brother and king's jaw, I gritted my teeth and waited for the Sindrian king's laughter to subside.

Finally falling silent, Sinbad lifted his head from where it had been resting on his knuckles and leaned forward, lacing his hands together on the table in front of him as his eyes glinted dangerously "…You know… I never really expected the Kou Empire to comply with that particular demand anyway…" Leaning forward even more so that his chin rested on the valley of his entwined fingers, Sinbad's smirk widened "…And that's why I arranged a backup plan just in case…"

"…Backup plan…?" I tried to keep my face neutral, but I couldn't shake the uncomfortable sense of foreboding building up in the pit of my stomach.

"Yep! A backup plan to make sure that Kouei would definitely make it to the meeting…" Cocking his head to one side, Sinbad's molten gold eyes twinkled, smirk not leaving his face "You didn't really think I would be so naïve as to assume that you would automatically comply with all my conditions did you…?"

"What have you done…?!" Feeling the panic rise up inside of me, I leapt up from my seat, not even sparing my knocked over chair a glance before raising my voice, ignoring the warning hand that father had clamped over my wrist "What did you do to my little sister?! **TELL ME!** "

""Do to your little sister" you say…?" Chuckling, he leaned back into his chair no doubt drinking in the sight of the desperation and borderline panic in my face as a sadistic gleam made its way into his eyes "Well… the answer would have been "nothing" if you had just brought her here like I had requested…"

Nearly snapping the pen in my clenched fist, I made to exit the room and find Kouei as soon as I could, but Sinbad's silver-haired advisor cut me off, blocking my way out of the room _…!_ _When did he…?!_ Barely managing to mask the astonishment from my face, I met his gaze coolly, staring him down _…I didn't even see him get out of his seat…!_

"Prince Koumei… I would like to remind you that this meeting is not yet over and you are an integral part of its success…" Dark eyes narrowing slightly, Sinbad's advisor Ja'far motioned back towards the center of the room where Father, my brother and king and Sinbad were sitting "Whilst this meeting is still taking place, you have an obligation as a member of the Kou Empire's representing party to stay and see this through until it has ended…" Meeting my gaze once more, obsidian clashing with pink, I caught the slightest sneer tug at the corner of Ja'far's lips "…Or is the Kou Empire really so flippant in its dealings with foreign royalty?"

"…He's right Koumei…" Red eyes narrowing, Father frowned before imperiously beckoning for me to sit down "You will sit and remain in your seat for the duration of this meeting."

"Father, this is-!"

"Enough." Clear commanding voice cutting through my protests, Father's frown deepened "Understand that this is not a request as your father but an order as your king… Know that refusing is not an option and that you will do as you are told…" Beckoning for me to sit once more, Father held my gaze with his, crimson red depths piercing into me _… consuming me…_ "…Am I understood?"

"…Yes Father…My deepest apologies for losing myself…" _That's right… As important as it is to go and look for Kouei, with our current resources, we aren't capable of simultaneously fighting off all of the nations united under the Seven Seas Alliance so we can't afford to slip up and make them angry or give them a legitimate excuse to go to war…_ Catching the slightest hint of regret and worry reflected in Father's eyes, I understood the decision he was currently being forced to make _…To leave his youngest daughter to fend for herself against whatever Sinbad had sent after her… Or to potentially initiate a war that he would be certain to lose and forsake his entire country altogether…?_

There was no question about it. A king's duty first and foremost is to the people of his country. Going to war over something as trivial as a single princess, more so the 9th one is simply out of the question. _Meaning… if they can stall the ending of this meeting until after Kouei returns…!_

 _Dammit…_ _ **Dammit all…!**_ Cursing my own helplessness, I gritted my teeth and walked back to my seat, sitting down as calmly as I could. Squeezing my eyes shut, I exhaled and tried not to let my mind linger on the various images that forced their way into my mind.

 _ **Kouei…! Please be alright…!**_

 _~Back with Kouei and Judal~_

 **Kouei's POV**

Weighing the pouch that Mei had given against my hand, I frowned at how light it had gotten since the start of the day. "I'm starting to think money shouldn't be made out of gold in silver…" the newfound lightness and constantly shifting weight of the pouch made me feel strangely uncomfortable; and just from a quick glance around the marketplace, I could see that many nobles got their servants to carry their moneybags for them instead "Why not make it out of something that doesn't weigh much?"

"Stupid." Scowling as he munched his way through an armful of peaches he'd insisted on buying, Judal waved a juice-stained hand through the air, inadvertently flicking droplets of said juice at a crowd of nobles much to their disgust "Gold and silver are valuable and the point of making coins out of them is that the value of the coin is roughly the same as that value of the metals that it's made from." Flicking my forehead with a sticky finger, Judal exhaled irritably, rolling his impatient red eyes "Got it now, midget?"

Trying to rub the peach juice off of my forehead, I gave a sigh, but before I could tell Judal I understood, a certain shop caught my eye, stopping me in my tracks. Noticing that I'd stopped walking, Judal also stopped, whipping around to scowl at me "What now midget?" Ignoring him, I grinned as I pulled out the last 2 silver pieces and single gold piece and headed towards the shop.

But Judal it seemed, didn't take too kindly to being ignored. Still scowling, Judal ran to leap in front of me, cutting me off before firmly planting his hands on his hips and leaning down to my eye level to stare me down "Oi Kouei! Stop ignoring me and tell me what you're doing now!"

"Right right… Sorry Judal!" Giving a sheepish smile, I pointed at the shop; but it wasn't just any shop – it was the shop that sold the dress materials that Kouha and I had bought earlier this morning morning "I just remembered that Mei ruined this roll of silk when he wrote the list of books he wanted us to buy on it… so I should probably go in and buy Kouha another replacement as an apology don't you think?"

"Tch." Folding his arms over his chest, Judal scowled off to the side, red eyes flashing "You adore all your siblings… and they dote on you…huh…?" Shifting his gaze to the floor before stuffing his hands into his pockets and kicking at a pebble on the path, his gaze softened slightly before he mumbled out "Family… must be nice…"

Eyes clouding over slightly in concern, I slowly reached out a hesitant hand towards him "…Judal…?"

Seemingly going back to his usual self at the sound of my voice, Judal's head snapped up before he grabbed me roughly by the arm and dragged me inside the dress material vendor "Argh…! Never mind, you just wanted a damn roll of silk right?! Well hurry the fuck up because I want to go back to the palace and eat peaches!"

"R-right…?" _Strange… Judal seems a lot tenser than usual…_ Quickly trying to shake off the thought, I grinned, running to match Judal's longer stride _…Still… why can't I shake this sense of foreboding…?_

 **Judal's POV**

Quickly looking over my shoulder, I caught a quick glimpse of Kouei's grin before turning back to face the shop _…This reaction from the Rukh…_ Casting a quick glance at the erratic way the bird-shaped spirits were flying, I narrowed my eyes _…Something is about to happen I just know it…_ Catching the instinctive spasm of Kouei's hand squeezing mine, I let a troubled frown make its way across my face _…Sure I have no basis for this…_

… _But somehow… I have a really bad feeling…_

 **?'s POV**

"This is a special silk that can only be made from a special type of silkworm that is native to the Kou Empire, sir!"

"…I see…" resisting the urge to make my way out of the shop and get as far away from the pushy and over-eager salesman as I could, I wearily ran a calloused hand through my short red hair

… _That's right…_ I thought absent-mindedly giving my hair another ruffle _…In the shadier parts of the world, having red hair and eyes is practically the same as having a permanent target painted on your back for the slave trade…_ Sparing the salesman one last glance before shifting my gaze back to examining the materials on sale, I touched the various fabrics thoughtfully _…But to the people in the Kou Empire, I'm just a wealthy-looking foreigner to scrounge money off of…_

Trying to tune out the rest of the useless statistics and facts that the salesman was still spouting out, I gave a sigh before reaching for my money pouch _…Well… I know Sinbad sent me to keep an eye out for that Kou Princess from earlier… but I suppose it couldn't hurt to get Yamraiha or Pisti a souvenir…_

Pausing after I handed over the money, I gave a small frown _…Speaking of which, that Princess… what was her name again…?_ Feeling my eyebrows knit together slightly, my frown deepened _…It was…_

"KOUEI!"

"?!" _Did they just say…?_ Spinning around to face the source of that sound _… No…_ that _**name**_ , my eyes widened slightly in surprise as a familiar pair made their way into the shop before narrowing again at the sight of the red-headed female _…After Sin gave his orders, I was wondering how I would carry it out, but looks like I needn't have worried…_ Cracking my knuckles and shifting into a battle stance, I exhaled and got ready for the upcoming fight.

 _ **Because this time, my target fell right into my lap…**_

…

…

…

 _~Back at the meeting in Emperor Koutoku's throne room + Small time skip~_

 **Koumei's POV**

Suppressing a shudder of mixed fear and revulsion, I tore my gaze away from the superfluous exchange between Father and King Sinbad. _This meeting is really going nowhere…_ Daring to shift my gaze to meet my brother and my king's, I caught the well-hidden glint of disquiet in his crimson orbs. Feeling myself gulp, I set my pen down to hide the shaking in my hand. _If this situation has made even my brother and my king is uneasy…_

Lacing my fingers together to minimize their trembling, I let out a shaky breath through tightly compressed lips _…They won't leave until they find Kouei… and we can't make them leave without the risk of throwing a wrench into the already wide rift between the Kou Empire and all of the nations affiliated with Seven Seas Alliance headed by Sindria…_

Feeling a pair of eyes on me, I lifted my eyes and met Ja'far's gaze, coolly returning his glare. _They won't be leaving today without seeing Kouei, it's a perfect strategical checkmate…_ Narrowing my eyes, I bit back a growl as I glowered _…They really got us good this time…_ I was brought out of my thoughts by shouting voices, growing louder and louder. Ignoring the smug grin on Sinbad's face, my heart dropped to my stomach as I recognized one of the voices. _That voice… It couldn't be…! I could be mistaken… right..?_

But with each passing moment as the voice got louder and clearer with its growing proximity, my heart sank lower and lower. _That's right… It would be pretty hard to make a mistake in recognizing a voice that I've heard every day for the past 10 years…_

Eyes glued to the door with a growing sense of dread, I watched helplessly as the Fanalis man that had been with Sinbad entered with Kouei slung carelessly over his shoulder and Judal ineffectually beating him around the legs with his staff, both creaming at him in their distinctive prepubescent voices.

 **Kouei's POV**

"Let Kouei go! I SAID LET HER GO-Oomph!"

Grunting as he cushioned my fall when the Fanalis unceremoniously dumped me, Judal scowled, shaking his fist at him indignantly before quickly helping me up and checking me for injuries "Kouei! Are you hurt?!"

Gently swatting his hands away, I gave him a reassuring smile "I'm fine; I may be a girl but I'm a Fanalis too you know! But speaking of injuries…" I looked sheepishly at the large bruise already starting to form on his arm where I had accidentally jabbed him with my elbow when I landed on him. Reaching out and gently pulling his arm towards me, I untied my sash and used it to bandage his arm before wrapping it loosely behind his shoulder and neck to create a makeshift sling "Get it properly treated at the infirmary after this okay?"

Pulling the sling up to his eye-level and staring at it for a full 5 seconds before grimacing at the flowers embroidered on it, Judal scowled and shifted his gaze to stare off to the side as a dull red flush began to color his features "Tch. Alright, but only coz I want to get rid of this stupid girly sling, got it?!"

"Got it!" Watching as the ends of Judal's' lips twitched up slightly and he ran his free hand through his bangs, looking embarrassed yet pleased, I smiled, helping him sweep a stray bang into place, almost forgetting where we were until the sound of Sinbad's voice jolted me back to reality.

"Kouei!" Whipping around to glare at a certain purple-haired king, I gritted my teeth before spitting out his name like it was venom on my tongue " _ **Sinbad…!"**_

"Yep~! That's my name, Kouei; I'm happy you remember me!" leaning back into his chair, a content and satisfied smile on his face, he gave a brief glance around the room before he patted his lap, winking as his smile widened into a grin "Uh oh… looks like there's no more seats left… so how about it? Want to sit in my lap?"

Slowly backing away from him, red eyes narrowed with anger in disgust, I opened my mouth, trying to tell him no but Big Brother En beat me to it.

" **Not in a million years.** "

Taking advantage of Sinbad's temporarily stunned state, Mei set his pen down and beckoned to me "Come here, Kouei." Nodding, I ran into my favorite brother's arms, letting him scoop up and settle me into his lap as I buried my face into his robed chest.

Turning around to glare at Sinbad as Mei gently rocked me in his lap, I didn't look away until I heard a loud resounding smack. Giving the women and alcohol loving king one last glare, I turned to face the source of the noise, eyes widening when I took in the scene.

The Fanalis was looking down at the dent in his armored shin guard while Judal threateningly waved what looked like the remains of his now broken staff in his face "That was for manhandling me and Kouei!" giving a huff, Judal strutted up to us, glancing briefly between Big brother En and Mei before seemingly making a choice. Pushing me to one side of Mei's lap, Judal climbed into the newly vacated space from where he continued to glare at the Sindrian party.

Lifting an eyebrow, Sinbad let a smirk of amusement spread over his face as he watched Mei's uncomfortable expression "Prince Koumei… Are you sure you can carry them both at once?" Giving me another glance, he patted his lap again and winked before lifting his gaze to meet Mei's once more "Sure you wouldn't like me to lighten your load?"

Glaring at Sinbad as I felt both Judal and Mei wrap their arms around me protectively, I opened my mouth to speak, but it came out as a squawk when I felt myself getting plucked out of Mei's lap and settled into someone else's. " **Not on your life.** " Looking over my shoulder, I watched En give Sinbad a glare of unparalleled rage and fury as he wrapped his arms around me protectively " **There. Problem solved. Now continue.** "

Giving an elaborate sigh, Sinbad smiled before shaking his head slightly "How cold… Well no matter." Leaning forward as he laced his fingers together, Sinbad returned Big Brother En's glare with a smile "Now… What I came here to ask is…"

" **Kouei, won't you leave the Kou Empire and come to live in my Kingdom?"**

 _~End of Chapter 4 (MORE CLIFFHANGERS MUAHAHAHAHAH! :D)~_

Author's Note:

Hey guys! SUPER SUPER Sorry for the SUPER SUPER late update coz I'm been SUPER SUPER busy at school with exams! I'm the most horrible human being I know and this chapter wasn't even all that interesting ;w; (Sorry about that, but it was necessary to make the rest of the story flow better)

And also, if you're starting to feel a bit whoozy by the end of this chapter, I don't blame you cause this chapter is more than ten thousand words long – three thousand words past my usual word per chapter quota ^^; AGAINS SUPER SORRY FOR THE ULTRA-LATE UPDATE! OTL

If you liked, please follow/favorite/review, or if you didn't like it, please tell me which parts you didn't like so I can improve it for the next chapter! :D

Thanks to all my readers so far! You guys are my inspiration and my muse and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :D

P.S. Also, to the reviewer who asked about my brother's computer; the computer itself is dead, but he managed to extract his important files from the hard-drive so it's A-OK! xD


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

 **Author's Note:**

 _Okay! So I have no idea how often I'll be able to update because life is really catching up to me, but with a bit of hope, my life won't throw too much at me and I'll be able to write more often xD Cheers! Now for my disclaimer: I do not own Magi no matter how many letters I write to Santa during Christmas and many thanks to Jaxrond for agreeing to beta-read for me! :D_

 _In the Previous Chapter, Sinbad used all means available to him to make sure that he would be able to meet with Kouei in the audience he requested with Kou Empire's Royal Family. But now that he has Kouei right where he wants her, what was his motive?_

 **Kouei's POV**

" **Kouei, won't you leave the Kou Empire and come to live in my Kingdom?"**

"…" Not trusting my voice enough to speak, I silently opened and closed my mouth a few times, staring at the purple-haired Sindrian king in mute, incredulous shock _…What…?_

After a few moments of stunned silence, I bit my lip and forced a shaky smile onto my face _…No… If I do anything too drastic here, I will ruin the Kou Royal Family's public image…_ _ **And besides**_ _, that can't be what he said; not even the infamous Lady killer of the Seven Seas would go so far for a single conquest…_

Still smiling with that thought in mind, I met Sinbad's expectant gaze "…I'm sorry King Sinbad, but I think I must have misheard you–"

"Really now? Because I can't help but think that you didn't…" Voice cutting smoothly across mine, Sinbad's eyebrows lifted slightly in amusement as he rested his face on his knuckles, grinning. Golden eyes darkening with a predatory gleam, Sinbad leaned forward, grin instantly turning into a smirk "…But if you still think so, then I'll say it as many times as I need to until you get the message, Kouei."

"…!" _So he meant it like that after all…!_ Giving him a fierce glare, crimson clashing with gold, I opened my mouth to speak, but he held up a hand, silencing me as his golden eyes glinted, reflecting his amusement.

Lowering his hand before resting his face on his knuckles, Sinbad let a small smirk tug at his lips before mockingly lifting his gaze to meet Big Brother En's undisguised glare of rage "Now… I know you're probably already getting ready to turn me down, Kouei, but just hear me out…" Shifting in his seat so that he was now leaning forward, Sinbad's smirk widened as a dangerous gleam made its way into his now narrowed gold eyes "I wonder… Kouei, do you know how many sisters you have?"

Trying to keep the confusion off of my face, I met his gaze unflinchingly, pressing my lips together in an effort to mask any emotion that threatened to make its way into my eyes "…Including Lady Hakuei, there are eight other Imperial princesses other than myself…" Crimson red eyes narrowing slightly, I laid a reassuring hand on Big Brother En's wrist as his pulse quickened and his grip on me tightened "…But that's irrelevant and I don't see where you're going with this, King Sinbad."

"Really, you don't?" Eyebrows lifting slightly in surprised amusement, Sinbad's lips twitched into a small, incredulous smile before widening into a smirk which he mockingly directed at first Big brother En, then Mei before finally settling on Father "Really… So she has no idea, none at all…?"

Not missing the way that Big Brother En's fingers gave an involuntary twitch for a split second or the way that Mei flinched, I watched Father tighten his grip on his pen before Judal gave a derisive snort and asked the very same question currently racing through my mind "No idea of what, you stupid king?!" Narrowing his crimson red eyes, Judal threateningly waved the shattered remains of his staff "Spit it out!"

Smile not leaving his face as he gestured for Ja'far – who had half-risen out of his seat – to back down, Sinbad's smile morphed into a triumphant smirk as he drank in the sight of the uncharacteristic mix of anger and resentment on Big Brother En, Mei and Father's faces, before lowering his gaze to meet mine as a dangerous glint returned to his molten gold eyes.

"Kouei…" Waiting for my grudging nod of acknowledgment before he continued, Sinbad laced his fingers together in an almost delicate manner before resting his chin on the valley between his knuckles "Let me ask you a single question… And before your brothers or your father accuse me of poisoning your mind…" Sinbad's eyes twinkled with ill-concealed amusement as Big Brother En gritted his teeth, nearly grinding them to dust "…I don't want you to elaborate or anything, I just want one word… one number… for an answer…"

Pausing again as he watched me give a reluctant nod, Sinbad averted his eyes to give Big Brother En another triumphant smirk, crimson clashing with gold, before sliding his gaze back to meet mine.

"Kouei…" Seemingly unable to hold back the grin that overtook his face, Sinbad stated his question slowly and clearly, golden orbs flickering between both of mine to make sure I caught each and every word that passed his lips "…Tell me…"

" **Of your eight sisters, how many of them are still unmarried?"**

…

…

…

Staring at the Sindrian king for several moments in slack-jawed shock, I barely caught the hostile growl that Judal gave off as my ears pounded with rage _…That was a low blow but at least now I can see where he's trying to go with this… If he phrases it that way, he can allege, or at the very least imply that Mei, Big Brother En and Father were systematically arranging and forcing Kourin and the others into their respective marriages…!_

Lifting my eyes to match Sinbad's gaze, I matched his triumphant smirk with my most piercing glare _…I'll admit he's older than I am so he has more experience with these Royalty games than I do, so this time he managed to get me good…_

… _ **That womanizing bastard!**_

Opening my mouth indignantly at his question, I drew in breath to yell at the purple-haired male, but he stopped me with a single finger held up in my direction, golden eyes flickering with a dangerous gleam as a smiled filled with undisguised amusement tugged at his lips "Uh-uh~ Remember Kouei, you promised to reply with only your answer; no explanations or elaborations, I asked you a simple question and now I'd like a simple answer."

… _! That's right… If I lose my temper right now like Sinbad no doubt expects me to, I wouldn't be doing Big Brother En, Mei or Father any favors… Well, that being said, I'm also a member of the Kou Empire's Royal Family…Two can play at the game, so for now, I should start treading cautiously and wait for Sinbad to slip up…_

Biting my lip slightly before smoothing my expression out as neutral as I could get it, I forced a thin smile onto my face and resisted the urge to grit my teeth or give away any indication of my currently less-than-neutral emotions.

"Well… with the exception of Lady Hakuei and Kougyoku… the rest of my six sisters are married." Feeling Big Brother En give my wrist a gentle squeeze to reflect his approval, I gave myself a mental pat on the back but kept my guard up _…If I know enough about Sinbad which I think I do, this game of his is far from over…_

"Oh?" Keeping up a pretense of casual blandness, Sinbad moved to rest his face almost lazily against his knuckles, but I caught the well-hidden glint that flickered past the depths of his molten gold orbs "Kougyoku is only 13 years old and although she's already 17 and of marriageable age, Lady Hakuei still has her uses as a military general, so for now, she has yet to be made a bride for a foreign prince… Yet all six of your other sisters who have reached marriageable ages have already been wed off in arranged marriages to strengthen ties between the Kou Empire and its various vassal countries…"

… _? Wasn't this going to be about Kourin and the others? Why is he suddenly bringing up Hakuei, Kougyoku and their eligibility for marriage…?_ _ **Unless…**_

Crimson red eyes widening in understanding as the gleam in Sinbad's eyes darkened perceptibly, I shrank away from the Sindrian king, trying to block out his words

… _ **He couldn't… No…!**_

Red eyes glazing over with a mixture of fear and shock as tears gathered, I leaned back into Big Brother En's chest as far as I could to put as much distance between the purple-haired male and myself as possible _**…He wouldn't…!**_

… _When you're older, my king, you'll learn that sometimes reality is not so kind and the truth hurts; he would and deep down you know it._

 _Haagenti…!_

But I had to stop my line of thought right then and there, because turns out my Djinn was right. It was almost ironic, really, the way how the crimson red eyes of the Fanalis clan, the proud descendants of the ancient Red lions, could stare with such fear and terror into the eyes of an enemy.

This fear was neither the fear that Kougyoku expressed over spotting a spider, nor the fear that Kouha expressed upon finding out there was a possibility his favorite outfit had shrunk in the wash… but rather the fear of a deer staring into the headlights of an approaching car. The fear of knowing that something was happening but you there was nothing you could do to stop it.

 **The fear of being completely at someone else's mercy.**

"Kouei… you are only 10 years old at the moment… but you'll be of marriageable age in what… another 10 years? Or maybe even 5?" Giving a slow, sadistic smirk as he watched me squirm uncomfortably in my seat, Sinbad's molten gold eyes flickered with a barely-hidden glint of triumph "Now that begs the question…"

"… **Kouei, in another 5 or 10 years, would you, too, be wed off in an arranged marriage?"**

It seems that for once, it would not the king of animals that prevails.

Feeling my heart sink to the bottom of my stomach, I stared at the Sindrian king with utmost fear and horror, the distinctive dark markings around my eyes made even more prominent with the pallor of my currently ashen face _…Could it be…?_

… _My King…_

"…" Lowering my head, not even bothering to brush away my bangs as they fell into my face, I bit my lips as the tears began pooling in my eyes.

Refusing to let them fall and show any sign of weakness in front of the purple-haired male, I frowned, letting my narrowed eyes, lifted chin and clenched fists convey what social grace and conduct befitting royalty forbade me from saying out loud _…You may have one this battle, Sinbad… but this war is far from over…_

 _ **Next time I'll have your head on a silver plate.**_

Eyebrows lifting slightly to reflect both his interest and amusement, Sinbad tilted his head to the side, a small smirk tugging at his lips as he sent his own unspoken message across the room _…Still not giving up, little lioness?_

 _ **Interesting… I wonder how much more you can take before you finally break and cave in to me.**_

"… ***Ahem*** "

Tension dispelled, but unforgotten, I gave Sinbad one last look of deepest loathing before turning to face Mei who had tactfully coughed into his sleeve. Slanted pink eyes uncharacteristically glinting with a hint of barely contained rage, Mei got up from his seat, gently setting Judal down before he bowed to the Sindrian party, hiding the lower half of his face behind his black feather fan.

"King Sinbad, if that's all you and your minister came here for, I think you should take your leave…" Nodding an equally tense Father, Mei gestured towards the door "I shall have a guard escort you across the border–"

"No."

Voice cutting smoothly across Mei's as he made no move to get out of his seat, Sinbad gave a small smile as he continued our unofficial staring competition "Until I get an answer from Princess Kouei regarding my previous question, I will consider this meeting unfinished business."

"YOU–!"

"Judal!"

Vigorously shaking my head at the raven-haired male who had lifted the broken remnants of his staff in a near universal sign of aggression, I slid out of Big Brother En's lap and quickly made my way over to the magi, resting both of my hands over his raised arm before gently pushing it back down.

"Judal! He's a foreign king! Even if you hate his guts, you have to pretend not to, or he'll use that as an excuse to make the Kou Empire go to war with the Seven Seas Alliance! I know you're angry, trust me, I'm angry too! But you can't just pick a fight with him right here! Please listen to me just this once!" I hissed, trying to keep my voice audible to only Judal.

"… _Che_ …" Grudgingly letting me push his arm down and take the broken staff from his tightly clenched fist, Judal contented himself with giving the Sindrian king his best scowl and the rudest hand gesture he could think of before reluctantly letting me pull him away and shove him into my eldest brother's lap.

Making sure that the angry magi was safely tucked away in Big Brother En's steel-like grip, I gave Sinbad the most neutral smile I could force onto my face before giving a bow "…King Sinbad, thank you for your most generous offer, but I must decline; there is still much I have to learn in my homeland before I venture out to visit foreign countries…" Lifting my gaze to meet his, I let a small glint make its way into my eyes as I stared down the High King of the Seven Seas "…however, once I am a little more experienced, I'd be more than delighted to take you up on your offer in the future."

… _And when that happens… you'd best guard your life well because I'll be doing all in my power to claim it…!_

For all the flaws he had, stupidity was definitely not among the words I'd use to describe the purple-haired male sitting across from me, and if the way his molten gold eyes gave a steely glint was anything to go by, I think my unspoken message got across.

Finally getting up from his chair and stretching out his sore, rigid muscles, Sinbad gave a very wide, content smirk as he sauntered up to me, ignoring the glares and serious hate messages that my family and Judal were sending him.

Stopping when he was right in front of me, Sinbad lowered his hand onto my head, giving it a few affectionate ruffles before crouching down so our eyes were level "…I look forward to that day, Princess Kouei… but let me know if you change your mind and feel like coming earlier than that, okay?"

… _Interesting… I look forward to seeing the day you bare your claws at me, little lioness~_

Smoothly reaching down and grabbing my wrist, he slid something into my palm (which was promptly snatched away and tossed into Mei's waiting arms when Sinbad wasn't looking by an angry Judal who had fought tooth and nail to get out of the muscly prison I had left him in) before giving Big brother En a mocking salute and beckoning to Ja'far and the Fanalis.

"Ja'far, Masrur, we're done here; time to go home." Briefly turning back to an extremely tense Mei, Sinbad gave one last condescending smirk before leaving the room "Oh, and Prince Koumei, an escort will be unnecessary; we can see ourselves out."

Giving a brief nod of acknowledgment to everyone in the room, Sinbad let an unreadable smirk tug at his lips as he left Father and me for last "…Good bye Emperor Koutoku…"

Letting his molten gold eyes linger on me for a moment longer than was necessary, Sinbad's smirk widened before giving me a small wink "…and until next time, Princess Kouei." Then, quickly, before anyone had time to fully process his actions, Sinbad was already gone, his infuriating laughter echoing in his wake.

"…!" Nearly grinding my teeth to dust at how my day had been ruined, I clenched my fists, barely choking out a quiet "excuse me" before making my way out of the throne room, exhaling and smoothing out my features, trying to fight down my emotions at least until I made it back to the privacy of my quarters; it's the least I could do to uphold Father's dignity as part of Kou's Royal Family in front of any curious servants.

Finally making my way back to my room, I collapsed into my bed, pulling a pillow over my head as I felt a hot burning sensation behind my eyes _…That just then was way too close for comfort… All these mind games that royalty play…_

Finally letting the frustrated tears fall, I gave a few choked sobs, stifling them the best that I could in case there were any listening servants _…If I'm like this after a single confrontation, do I really deserve to be royalty at all…?_ Pulling tighter at the pillow, I closed my eyes, feeling a trail of tears make its way down my undoubtedly wet cheeks _…Forget Sinbad, heck, if this happens too often, I'm pretty sure I'll break, too…_

"…Princess…?"

"?!" _Oh no…! Normally servants are forbidden from entering the personal quarters of any member of Kou's Royal family… but I forgot the sole exception…!_

Quickly wiping my tears away with my sleeve, I immediately sat up, hoisting a reassuring grin onto my face as I whipped around to face my very concerned-looking mentor "Ryoukan! Did you need something?" I asked, trying to keep my current emotions at bay _…_ _ **No**_ _… Ryoukan is always looking out for me and doing his best to make sure I'm always okay…_ Exhaling softly, I gave my most winning close-eyed smile _…For someone who does so much for me and never asks anything in return, this is the least I could do…_

"…Princess…"

"Hm?" Hearing a slight tremor in his usually smooth, baritone voice, I opened my eyes, still giving a strained grin only for my smile to completely drop from my face.

 _Ryoukan, my most loyal and trusted confidant outside of my own family…_

 _My aide, manservant and mentor…_

 _A man who taught me all he knew…_

 _A seasoned fighter and battle-hardened warrior…_

 _And the first person I felt I could ever call a_ _ **friend**_ _…_ was currently staring at me, bright blue eyes filled with a mixture of pity and understanding "…Princess… I heard about everything from Prince Koumei and Prince Kouen… it's alright, right now it's just the two of us…"

Clasping his hands before him and lowering himself onto his knees, Ryoukan broke eye contact with me as he bowed "…And I apologize for over-stepping my boundaries in saying this but… by all means; cry if you feel you must."

Curling up into a ball on my bed and avoiding his gaze, I closed my eyes, feeling my tears carve salty tracks down my face "…Ryoukan…"

Hearing the soft shuffling of someone getting to their feet and feeling the bed dip down beside me under Ryoukan's added weight, I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders comfortingly "Yes, Princess?"

"…Big brother En and Mei are strong, aren't they…?" Lifting my head out of my arms, I sighed before moving to lean on my mentor "I feel exhausted after just one day of meeting with Sinbad… I wonder how they do it…"

Letting a small smile tug at his lips, Ryoukan gave a few small chuckles as he rubbed my shoulder comfortingly "Princess… You may not realize it yet, but you are just as strong as Prince Koumei and Prince Kouen…" Soft smile widening slightly, Ryoukan rested his hand over my head before giving my unruly red locks a few ruffles. "…Why, I seem to recall recently a certain 9th Imperial Princess of the Kou Empire having a go at the King of Nakano's advisor!"

"…Yeah… I guess you're right…" Giving a genuine smile this time, I grinned, wrapping both arms around my mentor, ignoring his small _**oof**_ of surprise as I buried my face into his shoulder "…Thanks for everything Ryoukan…" Lifting my crimson red eyes to meet his gaze, I gave a small, teary smile of thanks "…you're always so good to me…"

"Anything and everything under the sky for you, Princess… Ah!" Breaking off eye contact abruptly to look over my shoulder, Ryoukan's eyes widened slightly in surprise before a content smile of relief spread over his face and he tilted his head slightly, subtly gesturing for me to turn around and take a look for myself.

"…? Ah!" Following his gaze to the door, I let out a small gasp of my own before letting a wide grin spread over my face as I spotted my favorite brother standing at the entrance of my quarters, smiling his gentle smile as he softly closed the door behind him "Mei!"

"Well I'll be taking my leave now, Princess." Getting up as he dusted himself off, Ryoukan bowed, first to me, then to Mei before he made to exit the room. Pausing to throw one last gentle, understanding smile over his shoulder, Ryoukan hesitantly opened and closed his mouth several times before he finally spoke "…I… Please take care of yourself Princess… and if you need me, I'm here for you."

"…" Staring hard at the door even after it had closed with a click, I finally let out a breath that I didn't know that I'd been holding before turning to Mei who was still staring at me, not quite managing to hide the look of concern in his slanted pink eyes. Feeling the familiar warmth of tears beginning to fill my eyes again, I bit back a sob before running at Mei, causing him to fall over with a quiet _Oof_ of surprise as I leaned into his chest and let the tears fall "Mei…!"

"Shhh… It's alright Kouei… I'm here… Big Brother Mei is here…" Burying my face even deeper into his heavy robes as I listened to his comforting words and felt his soothing strokes along my back, I exhaled softly before finally bringing my face out of his chest and letting him give my hair an affectionate ruffle.

Gently brushing my bangs back before pressing a kiss to my forehead, Mei gave me another smile before scooping me up into his arms, moving to sit on my bed and setting me down in his lap as he wrapped his arms around me protectively, a familiar gesture from our shared childhood. Shifting me around slightly and making sure I was comfortable, Mei gazed at me and waited with a patient smile on his face, a silent request for me to spill out my troubles to him…

…And so I did.

Holding me close as he waited for me to speak, listening without any judgements or comments of his own as I told him my feelings about the Sindrian king and how trapped and vulnerable I had felt throughout the meeting, his only actions being to rub my back in an attempt to soothe me or the occasional "mhm" or "go on" to let me know he was still listening, Mei waited until he was certain I was finished before pulling me in to tuck my head under his chin, his ribcage vibrating slightly as he got ready to speak "Kouei…"

Waiting for me to give a non-committal grunt before continuing, Mei resumed his ministrations against my back before pitching in his own two cents on my situation "It's completely normal to feel the way that you do about King Sinbad… In fact, when I was your age…"

Pausing as he exhaled a shuddering breath before pulling me closer, an action that I suspected had more to do with comforting himself rather than me, I snaked my arms around Mei's waist and awkwardly patted what little I could reach of his back "Mei… You don't have to…"

 _Ever since I first started sitting in on Father's meetings with Mei, I'd asked him what his previous experiences were, but he had always just given me a soft smile before subtly changing the subject._

 _He had always been there for me and shared everything he had with me be it advice, counsel, a listening ear or something material like paper, sweets or anything off of his favorite shelf of bedtime stories and he kept so little from me that I let it slide time and again…_

… _So it was only now, right at this moment, that I had begun to realize exactly why my favorite older brother, the one who gave me everything and asked me so little, why my kind, generous brother chose to leave his past experiences in the Imperial Court a secret from me and shield me from the horrors until he knew that he couldn't always be there to protect me…_

… _That now, now that I had made my proper debut in the Imperial Court, I would have to learn to protect myself…_

 _ **Still…**_

 _That didn't mean that I was ready to force my beloved brother to dredge up the past and relive his painful experiences…!_

Nonetheless, it seemed he didn't share that particular sentiment with me.

"…No Kouei… I want you to hear this…" Giving another shaky breath as he hugged me as tight as he could short of causing me pain, Mei buried his face in my hair before continuing "When I was your age… sitting in on my first meeting as Kouen's –Errr… Big Brother En's– advisor, there was a man… a foreign king…" Voice hitching at the end of his sentence, I pulled back worriedly to gaze at Mei as he withdrew into himself and curled into a ball, opening my mouth to tell him to stop, but closing it again as he pushed on determinedly.

"He… During our meeting, he took a special interest in me and… took Father aside to express his wishes to take me home to his country…" Exhaling softly as he lifted his head to I could see the glassy look in his slanted pink orbs, I crawled over to him and wrapped my arms around him, rubbing at his back like he had done for me, determined to ease his discomfort in any way that I could. Giving me a grateful smile in return to let me know that I was helping, Mei continued, his voice much steadier than before (albeit still noticeably weaker, I noted worriedly).

"…When Father refused… He sought me out… Sent his advisor to my quarters and requested my presence at his… And there he…!" Voice rising and cracking as he finished his sentence, my crimson red eyes widened with a mixture of horror and outrage. Gritting my teeth as I opened and closed my mouth several times, trying to get my anger under control, I spoke as levelly as I could.

"…And this _**…man…**_ currently resides where…?"

Letting out a quiet chuckle, the first sign of emotional recovery since he began telling me his story, Mei gave me a watery smile before finally managing recomposing himself and gently scooping me back into his lap "…At the cemetery on Executioner's Hill…"

Seeing the stunned expression on my face, Mei ran his fingers through my hair before pulling me close and resting his head over mine "…I didn't speak to anyone for 3 days and 3 nights, and when Father and Big Brother En finally coaxed a reason out of me, I even debated fleeing or killing myself…"

Lifting a finger and gently pressing it over my lips, Mei gave me a far wider, far more genuine smile as he continued "Father was absolutely furious and declared war against the foreign king… It was a massacre… a complete genocide and I wish it didn't have to happen, but Father was beyond outraged…"

"…" Flopping back against my bed with a sigh, I closed my eyes and replayed today over in my head before comparing it to Mei's experience. I had Mei, En, Judal and everyone else to protect me… But Mei had no one…

… _I should have absolutely nothing to complain about…_

Moving to sit up in bed to face Mei who was still giving me his gentle smile, I returned it with my own before tugging at his sleeve, making him fall beside me with a yelp of surprise "Ne~ Mei~" Turning to face my favorite brother with a grin before moving to nuzzle him affectionately, I murmured out my next words, unaware of how tired I had been until Mei had helped me get everything off of my chest "Come sleep here tonight…?" And that was all I managed to get out before the darkness took over.

…

…

…

 **Koumei's POV**

"…" Moving to run my hand through Kouei's hair, I smiled to myself when she mumbled out something that sounded like "Don't like meetings…" and "Mei selfless and strong…" I leaned in to press a kiss against her forehead before making myself comfortable beside her; it hadn't been pleasant to remember what had happened that day, but for Kouei…

 _~Flashback to 10 years ago~_

 **11 year-old Koumei's POV**

"Prince Koumei…?"

"…?"

Gazing back over my shoulder idly at the maid, I made a half-hearted attempt to sit up straighter but my heart really wasn't in, especially after…

Giving a sigh, I almost missed the maid's next words "…His Majesty, Emperor Hakutoku's younger brother Lord Koutoku urgently requests your presence in the palace infirmary…" Lowering her gaze respectfully, the maid dipped into a flawless curtsey "…His Majesty states he has a surprise that would cheer you up."

"…Hmm…" Giving a non-committal hum, I got up, much to the maid's visible surprise before following her to the palace infirmary with an "I don't see what's so…?!"

Blinking in surprise as a red-haired woman screamed, causing several servants wearing the mid-wife uniform to swarm her, I whipped around wildly, quickly locating my father before opening my mouth to speak "…Father… What on earth is…?!" But that was all I got out before noticing a bundle in his arms.

Turning around to hand it to me, my normally slanted pink eyes grew even wider as I realized exactly what the bundle was and nearly dropped it. It was a baby… and judging from the color of her eyes and hair…!

"This is your new sister and her name will be Kouei… Take good care of her."

Gaping at the baby that had been suddenly thrust into my arms, I watched with a mixture of anticipation and awe as she looked me over, taking me in as much as I had been taking her in before giving and innocent giggle and reaching up to enclose one of my fingers in her tiny fist "Gaa~!"

Still in a dazed state as I carefully carried her back to my quarters and moved to sit down on my bed, I let a small smile come over my face as she continued to hold onto my finger, giving it an experimental nibble "Uu~!"

Giving a soft chuckle at her actions, I didn't notice Hakuren until he was hovering right over the two of us with a grin on his face "Well hello there~!"

"…!"

Nearly jumping out of my skin as I stared at my grinning cousin in shock, I pressed my lips together before shakily setting my newborn sister down and bowing "…Milord…"

"There's no need for that Koumei; we are family are we not?"

"!"

Whipping around to the source of the voice, I openly gaped as my second, eldest cousin picked my cooing sister up, holding her carefully in his arms as he inspected her with a benign smile on his face. Tilting his head up to face Hakuren and myself, he let a small frown tug at his lips "Hakuren stop that; you're scaring him."

"Right right~ Sorry~" Giving a nervous laugh as he quailed under his older brother's less than friendly look, Hakuren let a sheepish grin come over his features before walking up to Kouei and stuck a finger in her face, curiosity evident in his every movement "Hey there li'l buddy, what's your name~?"

"Hakuren…!" But even Hakuyuu couldn't keep the frown on his face from faltering when Kouei reached up for the proffered finger and grabbed it, cooing as she inspected the heir and the next in line of the country with as much, if not more, curiosity than they had in her before letting out a small giggle and tightening her grip-

"OW!"

-much to the distress of Hakuren as he hurriedly extracted his finger and stared at the abused appendage with a grimace on his face "What in the high hells-?!"

"Hakuren!" Trying to maintain a stern disposition yet failing to hide the look of amusement that made its way into his cerulean eyes all the same, Hakuyuu gave one last disapproving shake of his head before finally giving in and letting a chuckle fall past his lips "That's what you get when you taunt a baby; especially one with red eyes and hair…"

Pausing from his lecture as he turned Kouei over in his arms to get a better look at her features for himself, the Kou Empire's crown prince smiled, a look of awe in his cobalt blue orbs "… I noticed her hair and eye color, but I assumed that she inherited that from Uncle; I never would have imagined that she would be part Fanalis…"

Catching an almost mournful undertone in his expression, I blinked in surprise but before I could get a closer look, his kind smile was back in place and his innermost thoughts were once again smoothly inscrutable. Seemingly recomposing himself as he ran a gentle finger through her tuft of red hair, Hakuyuu gazed at me, either not noticing or ignoring the fact that his brother was still wincing and nursing his injured finger "Koumei… what's her name?"

"H-Her name…?" Blinking before remembering the name that Father had dropped earlier, I let a small smile come over my face "…Kouei…Ren Kouei."

"…'Ei'…? Using which character? '映' (To project/reflect light), '永' (Long/forever/perpetual/eternal), or '栄' (Glory/honor/flourish/prosper)?" Cerulean eyes not leaving the infant he held as he tried to guess his newborn cousin's name, Hakuyuu continued to smile, an indulgent look in his face as he shifted his grip in an attempt to make Kouei more comfortable.

"Seriously? Aren't those options too soft? My money's on '衛' (To guard/protect/defend) personally." Seemingly having recovered to some extent as he made a brave, second attempt to approach Kouei, Hakuren gave a good-natured laugh, lifting his crooked digit for our examination "I think she broke my finger!"

"Hakuren, that wasn't her fault; you should have known better than to provoke her." Hakuyuu gentle chided as Kouei seemed to coo in agreement "And isn't '衛' far too masculine?"

I opened my mouth to tell them that since I never saw her birth papers and only learned her name from hearing it spoken by Father, I didn't actually know how her name was written, but before I could get a single word out, a voice from the doorway of my quarters cut me off.

"Close, but not quite, it's '英' (Heroic) from '英雄' (Hero)"

"! Father!"

Clasping my hands together in front of me and bowing as a sign of respect at my father as he watched us interact with Kouei, only lifting my head when he gestured for me to do so, I turned to face Hakuyuu as he let out a hum "'英' from '英雄' you say…?"

Letting yet another smile cross his face as he stared down at Kouei, the Crown prince of the Kou Empire gave an uncharacteristically wide grin as he ran his free hand through her red tuft of hair "Nice to meet you Kouei! I'm your eldest cousin Hakuyuu and the '雄' from my name is from '英雄' (Pronounced 'Eiyuu') as well."

Pressing a chaste kiss to her forehead before moving to hand her back to my father, Hakuyuu paused to say one last thing "Since our names are both from '英雄'…"

"… _ **Promise me that when you're stronger, someday we'll protect Kou together alright…?"**_

 _~Flashback End~_

 **Koumei's POV**

 _Well… That's what he said, but… 4 years after that incident, Lord Hakutoku, the previous Emperor or the Kou Empire and his sons were caught up in a revolt resulting in the deaths of Lord Hakutoku, Hakuyuu and Hakuren so Hakuyuu never did manage to see his promise upheld…_

… _ **Still…**_

Letting a soft smile spread over my face as I watched over my sleeping younger sister, I closed my eyes and felt myself nod off, all the while not noticing the fact that we had an audience.

 **Hakuei's POV**

"Che…! Stupid Mei, stealing all the good parts for himself…"

Letting an indulgent smile spread over my face as I saw the murderous look on Kouha's face reflected in Lord Kouen and Hakuryuu's expressions, I lifted a finger to my lips in the universal gesture for silence before beckoning them away from the door, suppressing a chuckle at their grumbles as they made to turn in for the night.

After having heard about what had happened during the meeting with King Sinbad from Lord Kouen when he confided in me, I had suggested that we should have a meeting between us siblings to make sure that Kouei was alright, but… if she was already asleep, then it would be wise to let her rest for tonight and bring it up tomorrow…

…

…

…

 _~Time skip to the next day~_

 **Hakuei's POV**

"Come on Gyoku-chan! Let's pick the ones you like best and make a flower crown!"

"W-Wait! E-Ei-chan! S-Slow down- EEP!"

Watching as Kouei narrowly managed to catch Kougyoku before she fell, I suppressed a smile before turning to face Lord Kouen and Lord Koumei who had both also managed to make excuses to chaperone our younger siblings as they played. Glancing down at the scroll I held in my hands, I let an uncharacteristic frown tug at my lips before quickly brushing it off, handing the document to Lord Koumei instead.

Watching as he quickly read and reread the words before passing it back to Lord Kouen, I shared a worried look with Lord Koumei before glancing to the Crown Prince of Kou to get his input.

"…"

"…"

"…"

Seemingly sensing that something out of the ordinary was about to happen, I suppressed another smile as Kouha got up from where he and Hakuryuu had been playing and made his way over, an eager look in his large, rounded pink eyes much to Lord Kouen's silent disapproval if the irritated quirk in his brow was anything to go by " _ **Kouha…**_ "

"Oh come on En! You really need to chil-LAX~ Just a tiny little bit is fine isn't it?! I'm a man too!" Sticking his tongue out in a grimace when he noticed that Lord Kouen's expression hadn't changed, Kouha pouted "See, this is exactly why Ei likes Mei more than you! You need to get that stick OUT of your old man ass!"

"…!" Letting an uncharacteristically thunderstruck expression come over his face, Lord Kouen whipped around to scrutinize Lord Koumei who hid behind his fan with a mixture of shyness and slight fear before redirecting his gaze to where Kougyoku and Kouei were currently playing, expression softening almost imperceptibly as a hint of longing swirled in his crimson red orbs "…Very well, you may stay."

"Pssh~! See, I knew it; this is why stingy old guys like you suck- Wait what?!" Mouth falling open as he turned back from where he had been about to leave, Kouha blinked once…

Twice…

Before he gave a raucous round of laughter, a delighted if not somewhat incredulous grin spreading over his face as he slapped Lord Kouen's back with a resounding smack much to his displeasured surprise "AHAHAHAH! I just _**knew**_ that you'd see sense En!"

Giving a few quieter but somewhat more ominous giggles, Kouha rubbed his hands together, a somewhat familiar, scheming look coming over his youthful features "Muhahah~ Now I know _**exactly**_ what to say next time- I MEAN! Thanks a lot En!"

Watching with a mixture of curiosity and amusement, I suppressed a chuckle as Lord Kouen clenched a fist, raising an arm threateningly in Kouha's direction before seemingly thinking better of his premeditated actions and choosing use his lifted hand to pinch the bridge of his nose as an outlet for his barely contained frustration instead " _ **…You're very welcome Kouha…**_ "

Apparently sensing he was one more emotional tight-rope act away from meeting an extremely unfortunate end at the hands of his eldest brother, Kouha clamped his mouth shut, using his hands to mime zipping his lips and throwing away the key before violently (yet completely silently) gesturing for Lord Kouen to finish what he had been about to start.

Nearly grinding his teeth to dust as a muscle jumped in his jaw, Kouen cleared his throat and gestured to the scroll that he held, wisely deciding to read it out loud to an impatient Kouha who was eying the document with the air of an excited cat about to spring.

 _ **To Kouei (Or maybe I should say "To Prince Kouen and whoever else is reading this after it's been confiscated" huh? xD)**_

 _ **Sorry for the way Masrur and Ja'far beat you black and blue on our last meeting -**_

"Hah! If you really were sorry, you wouldn't have done it to begin with!" Kouha snorted, breaking his silence in favor of reaching for his sword much to Lord Koumei's horror and subsequent attempts to coax his younger brother's hand away from his weapon "That's it! When I see that boozy bastard's alcohol-loving ass again, I'mma beat him black, blue, red, purple and every other color of the goddamn rainbow!"

Quickly clapping a slender hand over Kouha's mouth and wincing when he got bitten, Lord Koumei eyed Lord Kouen, silently urging him to continue while whispering a hushed "Shh!" in an attempt to soothe and pacify his fuming brother.

Raising an eyebrow and meeting Kouha's gaze, crimson orbs glinting with a silent warning against any further interruptions, Lord Kouen continued where he had been cut off.

 _ **Sorry for the way Masrur and Ja'far beat you black and blue on our last meeting, but I gotta say, color me impressed that you actually managed to hold 2 of my generals off at the same time! xDDD**_

 _ **I wanted for you to come to train at Sindria as a foreign ambassador, but, seeing as Ja'far had told me that was unlikely, why don't you go to train in Magoi Manipulation with the Yambala Gladiators in Leim? :D**_

 _ **They aren't allied with the Seven Seas Alliance so this should be okay right? :3**_

 _ **All that I ask in exchange of that brilliant piece of advice is for you to come visit me when you're stronger so I can see how much you've grown; don't make me wait too long alright? I'll get lonely! xP**_

 _ **-Sinbad x333**_

"…"

"…"

"…"

Quickly recovering before everyone else and snatching the letter from Lord Kouen's hands to scrutinize it for himself, Kouha gaped, large pink eyes growing even wider with each passing word "…Is this harem junkie for real?!"

"K-Kouha!" Face going as red as his hair as he stared at his younger brother in shock, Lord Koumei hid the lower half of his face behind his black feather fan, a flash of embarrassment dancing past his slanted pink eyes "He's foreign royalty, it's unbecoming of you to address him as such… and… w-where did you learn those words…?!"

Giving a mischievous grin, Kouha opened his mouth to reply but before he could get a single word out, he was almost bowled over by a refreshed looking Kouei (followed by an equally refreshed looking Kougyoku and Hakuryuu), her lips on the verge of forming a name "Mei!"

Immediately letting a wide, close-eyed smile spread over his face as he crouched down to scoop Kouei up, Lord Koumei held Kouei in his arms, his embarrassment forgotten as he moved to sit on a nearby bench.

Giving Lord Kouen a nudge to break his narrow-eyed scrutiny of Kouei and Lord Koumei, I gestured at the scroll held in an equally riveted Kouha's vice-like grip before raising my eyebrows, my unspoken question hanging in the air…

… _ **What should we do about King Sinbad's suggestion…?**_

"…" A worried furrow marring his brow as he inwardly warred with himself, Lord Kouen opened his mouth with uncharacteristic hesitation before speaking, his words directed at his youngest sibling.

"… **Kouei, come here… There's something you need to know…** "

…

…

…

Giving a disgusted frown as she read through the contents of the scroll, Kouei hesitated when she finished, her finger tracing over the words 'Magoi Manipulation' as she glanced up, vivid red eyes wracked with indecision "…Mei…? En…?"

Gently tugging the scroll out of Kouei's hands, I suppressed a smile, not missing the way Hakuryuu's eyes followed the movement with a hint of longing before turning to face the conflicted-looking Crown Prince "…Lord Kouen?" I prompted, holding back a chuckle as he seemingly snapped out of his mini reverie.

"…" Giving another frown as he delicately plucked the scroll out of my hands and reread it, holding it at arm's length before shoving it into the fumbling arms of a flustered Lord Koumei, Lord Kouen's frown deepened as he weighed the pros and cons out loud, speaking slowly and clearly so Kouei caught every word and had plenty of time to think things over "Kouei…"

"Aside from the fact that King Sinbad was the one who suggested the idea, this course of action does have many merits. By learning to control your magoi, you can utilize it to strengthen yourself in combat and it will greatly benefit you when you attempt to learn Djinn equip… _However…_ " Making sure he had Kouei's undivided attention before his next sentence, Lord Kouen continued, a grim look coming over his face.

" **Leim is quite far from here and neither Koumei nor I will be able to accompany you."**

"…!" Wide eyes darting back to Lord Koumei who looked away and refused to meet her gaze, Kouei reached up to tug at Lord Koumei's sleeve, forcing him to show her the pained expression on his face "Mei… Is it true…? If I go… I won't see you for ages?!"

"Hakuei is also quite busy and judging from how much time needs to be spent travelling across a desert, I don't think Kouha would want to go with you either…" Smoothly cutting into the conversation before Lord Koumei could reply, I smothered a giggle as I noted the uncharacteristically peeved look on Lord Kouen's face (that probably had nothing to do with King Sinbad's suggestion) as his crimson red eyes zeroed in on Kouei and Lord Koumei's linked arms "…If you do decide to go, you'll probably only be going with your manservant and a small handful of other attendants-"

"I-I…!"

Covering his mouth with both hands and letting a visible blush spread over his face as our entire family turned to stare at him, Hakuryuu hesitantly lifted his face out from behind his sleeves only to lose his nerve and duck back behind them as he muttered out something inaudible.

Letting a wide, genuine smile spread over my face, I set a gentle hand on my younger brother's back and rubbed, gently coaxing him into a more confident posture "Shoulders back, chin up and speak louder Hakuryuu; you're a man aren't you?" I smiled, trying to give my timid brother a reassuring boost.

Seemingly absorbing the pep talk, Hakuryuu nodded, sheepishness fading as he straightened his spine, taking in a deep breath before shouting what was on his mind "I-I…!"

"I'D LIKE TO GO TO LEIM WITH KOUEI!"

"…?"

"…?"

"…?!"

Blinking at Hakuryuu in surprise and ogling him as if this was the first time they'd ever taken a good look at him, Kougyoku, Kouha and Kouei gaped while Lord Koumei and Lord Kouen looked on in stunned astonishment, all at a complete loss for words as they struggled to process what Hakuryuu had just told them.

Giving an encouraging smile as Hakuryuu got off his chest what I'd suspected had been going through his head since the moment I caught his gaze lingering on the scroll from King Sinbad, I nodded along, waiting for my brother to continue, getting his aspirations and plans out in the open in his headlong way now that he had successfully rid himself of his inhibitions.

"I… I know I'm still lacking in many departments, but by learning Magoi Manipulation, even if it's just a little bit, I WANT TO GET STRONGER!" After shouting out his last statement, Hakuryuu finally seemed to have realized what he'd just done if the look of mixed horror and mortification on his face were anything to go by.

Running out of steam and immediately clamming up as he returned to his usual self, Hakuryuu finished his impromptu speech, a flush darkening his normally pale complexion "…O-Or…. S-Something like t-that…?"

Giving my embarrassed brother a reassuring rub on the head as the rest of our siblings processed his words, I opened my mouth to congratulate him on speaking up-

" **FUCKING WELL SAID SPINELESS MIDGET** COZ GUESS WHAT?! **THE GREAT JUDAL IS COMING TOO!** "

Popping out of a nearby bush as his signature sneer came over his face, the High Priest of the Kou Empire, Lord Judal glanced left and right before whistling at his audience "Whoa, you guys got a full house here huh?"

Ignoring the stunned look on Lord Koumei's face and the irritated quirk in Lord Kouen's brow, Lord Judal made a beeline for Kouei before sliding an arm around her shoulders and leaning in with a smirk "Hear that Kouei? If spineless midget gets to come then that means me too!"

Seeing irritation mounting in Lord Kouen's face as his eye twitched, I laid a reassuring hand on his arm, subtly shaking my head as he opened his mouth to speak "This should be alright no? Lord Judal is a competent Magi and he will offer a great deal of what precious little protection we can send Kouei's way." I whispered, purposefully keeping my voice low enough to be out of a pouting Kouha's earshot.

"…" Glancing at the raven-haired Magi and giving a grudging nod, Lord Kouen exhaled through tightly compressed lips before clearing his throat to get Kouei's attention "Kouei… Your travelling companions can be finalized later, but the decision is now yours to make…"

"Will you or will you not go to Leim?"

 **Kouei's POV**

"…!"

Glancing between the unreadable look on En's face and the worried one on Mei's, I bit my lip before turning to Hakuei. Seemingly noticing the indecision in my face, Hakuei smiled before nodding and giving me an encouraging pat on the back "Mhm… Go on Kouei… if you'd like to say something, now's your chance!"

Slightly reassured by her words, I returned her smile before turning to face my two eldest brothers "…Mei… Big Brother En… I-!"

 _~End of Chapter 5 Cliffhanger Muhahahah~! :DDD~_

 **Author's Note:**

SORRY IT'S SUPER SUPER LATEEE! I literally have zero excuses unless you count trying to evolve my writing style and trying to write my first original story while planning more plot! DDDx The only remotely legit reason I have to update literally MONTHS after my last post is because I have the last exams of my high school career coming up and I really can't afford to screw those over or I risk not being able to make college ;w;

Welp, my dubious excuses aside, this is my High School graduation gift to all my readers and I hope you enjoyed! xDDD I purposefully left the ending ambiguous because for one, it's a cliff-hanger and for another, I've had lots of comments and inboxes suggesting that I give Muu a bit of time to shine seeing as he's also a half-Fanalis and lots of readers have requested to have him appear in the story! xDDD I do take all of what you guys have to say seriously (Special shout-out for zasagurl from Wattpad who ultimately managed to get me off of my rump) and I love comments because I'd really like to hear what you guys have to say about my stories and any suggestions you can make for me to improve! xDDD

I normally don't do this because I like to respect the privacy of my readers and not drag them into the limelight (if you don't like this done to you, PLEASE make sure to let me know that in your comments/messages OTL), but SUPER SPECIAL THANKS to YukinoMusume (Coincidentally also from Wattpad ) who I have to say is my top pick for best commenter; I have to say, it was a real pleasure to read through what your thoughts were when you read my story and it made me get a real feel of what my readers were thinking when they read my story so THANKS A TON For your comments! xDDD

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will update again depending on how much love (and time OTL) I get so please favorite/follow/review if you like this story or go on my profile to check out my other stories x3


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